This was the Hillary Clinton who inspires.

This is why she has such a devoted following, and such dedicated longtime staff members.

In her concession speech on Saturday, Hillary Clinton hit all the right notes.

First of all, she did what she didn’t do Tuesday night: She not only recognized the reality that Barack Obama had won, she gave him as full-throated an endorsement as he could have ever hoped for.

No delusional talk, no angle-playing, no veiled threats or bargaining positions.

“I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next President, and I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort,” she said. She also praised his “strength and determination, his grace and his grit.”

And on issue after issue, she said, “That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our President.”

But it wasn’t a concessions speech, pure and simple. It was much more than that, much better than that.

For Hillary Clinton filled her speech with principled political commitments. No one listening could deny how die-hard she is for universal health care or how much she cares about the veterans or how deeply felt is her belief in equality and democracy. She even talked about “gay rights” and mentioned everyone, “gay and straight,” in a way she seldom did on the campaign trail.

Sounding a little like Tom Joad from the Grapes of Wrath, she said: “I will continue to stand strong with you every time, every place, in every way that I can. . . . You’ll always find me on the front lines of democracy, fighting for the future.”

She alluded to her own admirable toughness so as to inspire her followers, and any young people listening, not to be quitters. She talked about the need to “reject can’t-do claims.” Coming from someone else, it might have sounded trite. After what she’s been through, though, her advice resonated: “Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.”

Above all, she placed her run in the historic context that it deserves.

“When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions,” she said. “Could a woman really serve as commander in chief? Well, I think we answered that one. Could an African-American really be our President? And Senator Obama has answered that one. Together, Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union.”

She’s absolutely right about that.

She fully embraced the feminist achievement that she accomplished, she honored the feminist pioneers before her, and she made it clear that sexism has no place in America.

“We must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and their mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect,” she said. “Let us resolve and work toward achieving very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits, and there are no acceptable prejudices in the 21st century in our country.”

It was a tour de force: classy, substantive, passionate, inspirational.

And it made me wonder whether, had she only taken this high road throughout the campaign, she might have prevailed.