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Campbell Brown
Democratic National Convention Coverage
Aired August 25, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And he will tell you, if the Democrats are struggling in Pennsylvania when we go from August into September and into October, then they are in trouble across the country from an electoral map perspective.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
If they have to worry about Pennsylvania, they're in deep, deep trouble. And if they're in trouble in Pennsylvania, guys, they're probably in trouble in Ohio, they're probably in trouble in Michigan because the demographics in those states -- Paul Begala, you know this better than anyone -- are pretty similar.
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: They are. I have run five campaigns in Pennsylvania. And the governor has won a couple of big ones. And you notice, with John, he went right to that southwestern corner of the state.
It used to be the most solidly Democratic part of the state, but it's been trending away. And Senator Kerry just barely won there. And I think Democrats are in trouble there, but it's a tossup state. I don't think it's a crisis or anything. But it's very telling that Barack Obama is going there right away.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: How much time, also, do you see Joe Biden and also potentially Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton spending in that?
BEGALA: A lot. They will go there a lot, as often of course as the candidate asks them to do.
I think Biden being born in Pennsylvania, his state of Delaware is in the Pennsylvania media market, albeit Philadelphia, not Pittsburgh. But he's long been known as the third senator from Pennsylvania, and they love him there.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: And remember the problems that Barack Obama had during the primaries was so-called bitter rural America. He is going to be sending Joe Biden to those places, as well as Florida, because Joe Biden is pretty popular there, too.
BEGALA: And one last thing. Tomorrow night, prime time, Senator Bob Casey. Very few freshmen senators are getting up there to speak. But he endorsed Barack Obama early and he's a key pro-life supporter of Barack Obama.
BLITZER: All right, guys, stand by, because, as important as Pennsylvania is, Ohio is pretty important as well.
Let's go to the Ohio delegation. Jessica Yellin is there with a guest.
Jessica, set the scene for us where you are.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.
I am here obviously in a very important state for political reasons, but there is also a very important, interesting person here for symbolic reasons.
Bo Shuff is a delegate from Ohio.
But your grandfather gave you something. You have something of your grandfather's that is meaningful. Tell me about it.
BO SHUFF, OHIO DELEGATE: I do. I actually discovered last year when going through my grandmother's house -- my grandfather died before I was born -- that my grandfather was a delegate to the 1960 convention. And so I actually am wearing his credentials in honor of him and bring his legacy forward into this convention.
YELLIN: And this is significant. Here it is. This is JFK, President Kennedy's convention back in 1960, this is your first convention.
SHUFF: Correct.
YELLIN: And I understand Caroline Kennedy herself, JFK's daughter, walked by and talked to you about this.
SHUFF: She did. She happened to sort of cut through this aisle, as the one behind you was getting crowded. And we talked just real briefly about it. And she mentioned something, that the last time she had seen one was in either the museum or the library. So, it was great to bring that around.
YELLIN: And obviously today is an important night for the Kennedys. How excited are you to see Ted Kennedy here tonight? What does he mean to you?
SHUFF: Senator Kennedy means the world to everyone in the Democratic Party. He's the leader of our party, no matter who is at the top of the ticket. He has been around for so long and meant so much to the causes that we all care about.
I'm thrilled that he's here. I'm sure the entire arena is going to be on their feet and there won't be a dry eye.
YELLIN: Great.
Bo Shuff, thank you so much. They're looking forward to that moment, Wolf, when Ted Kennedy walks into this stadium.
BLITZER: A lot of us are, Jessica. It will be a very, very emotional moment. Senator Ted Kennedy, he's here in Denver right now. And we're standing by. We will be hearing from him in the coming hours.
Anderson Cooper, as you know, they're going to go from music, but that's going to be, I guess, a poignant, sad moment as well, knowing how sick he is.
COOPER: There will be a video tribute also, we are told. And again it's simply unclear at this point whether or not Senator Kennedy will be able to speak.
Gloria Borger, based on sources she had, you have been hearing a speech has been written. If he is able to give it, he will.
BORGER: Right.
We don't know, Anderson. The trip here was very difficult for him. And he was resting this afternoon. It's clear that he really wanted to come to this convention. As John said earlier, there were folks in his family who said, no, you're too sick to do it. He's with his closest aides and family. And I was told today that it's going to be an hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute decision about what's going to happen.
COOPER: Roland Martin is also joining us tonight in the hall.
Roland, you spoke to Michelle Obama earlier. Give us a preview of what she is going to be speaking about tonight. Did she give you any specifics?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, absolutely.
She really went after the whole issue of patriotism. But she also really spent a lot of time, Anderson, talking about her children, her husband, their relationship, what family means. And, so, I think you're going to hear her really lay that out, but also how she grew up, being a woman with a brother, with two parents, working-class parents, growing up on the South Side of Chicago, seeing her dad go to work everyday with multiple sclerosis, seeing her mom go to work.
She is going to say, look, you may hear that I went to Princeton, that I went to Harvard, but my roots are on the South Side of Chicago. She wants to be able to connect. I have heard her give that speech before and she nails it. And in fact I think, hopefully, she is probably going to put pressure on her husband to say, look, you need bring it when it comes to your family background on Thursday.
And so I think you are going to hear a lot of that in her speech. She really is going to nail the issue of family and faith.
COOPER: Roland, I want to go to our Internet correspondent, Abbi Tatton, because I understand Michelle Obama has actually released some video of her with her family preparing for tonight's speech.
Abbi, what are you seeing?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Anderson, this is a video message which has just gone out to the Barack Obama e-mail list, more than five million people on the list, a behind-the-scenes video of Michelle Obama preparing for her speech today, Michelle Obama pictured preparing with staffers from the campaign, pictured with her daughters, talking it through, getting ready, a message from Michelle to the Barack Obama supporters to please stay tuned.
And this is being sent out not just to the list, but people on that list encouraged to forward this around to their friends to tell everyone to get ready and watch this online at 10:30 p.m., trying to extend and reintroduce Michelle Obama to the entire e-mail community that Barack Obama's been building over the last year or so, in advance of this speech tonight -- Anderson.
COOPER: Yet another use of the Internet by this campaign, which has been so effective in how they have used the Internet, not only to get their message out, but in order to gain supporters and to fund- raise.
Wolf Blitzer is standing by.
I know, Wolf, you have actually some excerpts of comments Michelle Obama is going to be making tonight.
BLITZER: Yes. They have released some excerpts. And they're all pretty emotional. And they all address the issue of who Barack Obama is.
I will read one particularly poignant moment, where she says this.
"And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he had struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."
And that's just one excerpt of what she is going to be staying during the 10:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
KING: Interesting that, when Michelle Obama finishes tonight -- and her job is so important, as we discussed earlier -- many Americans have questions about this family, their background -- they are different.
And the Obamas need to reach out and say, yes, we are different, but we're also like you in a lot of ways. But after her speech tonight, which is the big event, we will also get to hear from Barack Obama. This party will get to hear from its new leader in this hall for the first time. He will be in Kansas in a home, but he will be beam in a message essentially congratulating his wife. He will be watching out in Kansas. That also will be a powerful moment.
We have been talking all along, how will the Clinton delegates reacts? How will others react? Well, Barack Obama, his big speech will be in Invesco Field, but he will be in the hall briefly tonight via satellite.
COOPER: Paul Begala, I thought it was very interesting to hear Governor Ed Rendell use a very specific example of what he says the McCain economic platform, how it would impact a voter. He was very specific, in -- kind of in layman's terms.
BEGALA: Right.
I think one of Ed's great gifts, Governor Rendell's great gifts, is that he talks in average way for average working folks. And there are times I think Senator Obama sounds too much like the constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago, and too little like the community organizer that he was in very rough neighborhoods in Chicago.
What impresses me about the excerpts from Michelle Obama's speech, over and over again, the word values, over and over again, emotion. My party is the party of 12-point plans and three-point losses. It is not 12-point plans that win elections. It is values, values, values.
So, he has got to do both. He's got to trash Bush and McCain, but then he's also got to show people that he is a real guy with a real wife and real values.
COOPER: And some of that values language, she says: "And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them" -- just some of the words Michelle Obama will be speaking later tonight in some two hours.
Before that, of course, the appearance of Senator Edward Kennedy, clearly, as many people have noted tonight, what is expected to be an emotional moment for many of the Democrats in this hall.
Our coverage continues. And it continues online at CNNPolitics.com.
BLITZER: That's going to be a moment when Ted Kennedy is here. Jimmy Carter is going to be speaking, though, in this hour. And we will be hearing what he has to say.
Remember, to our viewers, you can get all of this streamed live at CNNPolitics.com, everything that is going on behind me. That is a good place to get additional information as well.
We're the only cable news network that is anchoring from right here on the floor at the Democratic National Convention. And our coverage continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: At a defining moment in our history, America stands at a crossroads, with an historic choice between two paths for our country. One is a path of renewing opportunity and promoting innovation here at home and of greater security and respect.
BLITZER: Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, she is addressing this Democratic National Convention right now.
One of the issues that has been on the Republicans' talking points, at least on this day, is how liberal the Democrats are. And they're pointing, Anderson Cooper, to Nancy Pelosi specifically. She represents, they say, the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
Jimmy Carter is going to be here. They're going to be paying a tribute to him, another member of the so-called liberal wing of the party, Ted Kennedy, that will be an emotional moment, although he of course is a very liberal U.S. senator as well.
They're pointing to all of this and trying to hammer away at the Democrats.
COOPER: And certainly it's something which all those speakers will play well in this auditorium. The question is how are they received from the viewing public watching around the country.
Governor, do you have a microphone yet?
Want to bring in -- no mike yet. All right, we're working on that.
Governor Tim Kaine is going to be joining us.
BLITZER: Anderson, I was just going to say, as we await getting him ready, Governor Tim Kaine, he was one of the runners-up. He could have had the big job, but he didn't get it. He just missed out.
And we're going to grill him right now on how it felt when he got that phone call from Barack Obama.
Can you hear us, Governor?
GOV. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: I can hear you great, yes.
BLITZER: All right, so, tell us, how did it feel when the senator called you and said, you know what, we're moving in a different direction?
KAINE: (AUDIO GAP)
(LAUGHTER)
KAINE: ... conversations with the campaign, but I will say, it was really flattering to be mentioned, beyond my wildest dreams. I certainly didn't seek it. But I think he's made a good choice. Joe Biden is a good combination of head and heart.
BLITZER: All right, it's good to have you here, Governor. I know that Gloria has a question she wants to...
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: Someone in the campaign said this to me about me.
They said, you know, if Barack Obama could have picked his friend, the person he feels the most comfortable with, the person he really has gotten to know and admire the most and feels personally closest to, it would have been Tim Kaine.
KAINE: That makes me feel great. It really does. The good news is, I have got a great role.
BORGER: That was my tough question.
(LAUGHTER)
KAINE: I have got a great role, because Virginia is in play, as you know. We're dead heat in Virginia. That hasn't happened for so long. And my highest ambitions right now is making sure we get those 13 electoral votes into the Democratic column.
BLITZER: It's not going to be easy, Governor, as you well know. You have got a state where there's a lot of conservatives.
KAINE: Indeed, we do.
But, look, the last two governor's elections have gone Democratic. I came in as a governor with two Republican senators. By this fall, I am going to have two Democratic senators. We have got some momentum and Obama's message really resonates with Virginia's voters.
BORGER: What about McCain's popularity with military voters from the state of Virginia, large population there?
KAINE: Look, he's well respected. But military families -- and we have got veterans, Reservists, Guardsmen, active duty families, defense contractors -- they want good civilian leadership to make the right decisions about how to deploy military might.
They care about diplomacy. They care about America's moral example in the world. And we have already seen many of those folks really embracing the Obama candidacy, because we have got to change the direction on the economy and on national security.
COOPER: How do you think the message of tonight is going to be received? I mean, we're going to be hearing from Jimmy Carter. We're hearing from Nancy Pelosi right now. Hopefully, we're to be hearing from Senator Edward Kennedy, all which play very well in this hall, but very liberal for a lot of folks around the United States, as they're listening in.
KAINE: Anderson, look, parties recognize their leaders and their heroes. And that's what we're doing tonight.
But what I see in Virginia, we wouldn't be at a dead heat by accident. We're only there because Virginians fundamentally want to change the direction. The economy has been mishandled. We care about the economy. We have been the best state for business in "Forbes" magazine three years in a row. We care about economic management.
And John McCain is just going to keep going the path we have been down, and we know where that leads.
BORGER: Do you agree with people who say that Barack Obama needs to sharpen this message, that it's been gauzy change stuff, he's got to really start talking about some bread-and-butter issues now?
KAINE: Well, I think that is not fair to Barack.
He is inspirational, so people focus on that, but he has got some very sharp policy differentials. I mean, look at the economy. How do you measure success? John McCain, you measure it by how the wealthy and big businesses are doing, Barack Obama, how the middle class is doing and how small businesses are doing. Pretty basic stuff.
And I think, once that gets laid out, people paying attention after Labor Day, you are going to really see us do well. There is an enthusiasm edge that we have in Virginia right now over the other guys. They're grim, and maybe grim and determined. But we're enthusiastic and excited.
BLITZER: Let's bring in a former resident -- when I say former, very former -- resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia. That would be James Carville, who recently picked up his family and moved to New Orleans.
Congratulations on that. I'm sure the governor will miss you. Still have a home in Virginia.
Is he living in a dream world, though, James, the governor, when he says that they really can win a presidential contest in Virginia? It's one thing to win a Senate contest or a gubernatorial contest, but presidential contests are a different kettle of worms.
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, he's not.
And I have to confess that I'm a very, very pro-Governor Kaine guy. I taught a class at Northern Virginia Community College. The governor came up from Richmond the day after they had completed budget negotiations. He was up all night, spent three hours with these students there.
So, I was really so much for Governor Kaine, you wouldn't believe it. I'm not very objective when it comes to the governor. But I don't think that he is. And I think, if you look at the fact that we're going to do very well in the Senate race, we're going to win it, we have got Senator Webb is going to be out campaigning hard for this ticket, as Governor Kaine will.
And these military families are less Republican now than they have ever been. In fact, if you notice, Senator Obama got more military contributions than Senator McCain did. And, so, I think we are well-positioned there. And there's been a demographic change, as we know. A lot more people have moved into Northern Virginia. It's become more Democratic.
So, I think we have a real shot, a real shot.
COOPER: John King is at the magic wall. And he wants to show the map of Virginia and kind of walk through how you may win in the state of Virginia.
Let's look.
KING: And I don't even know if the governor can make it over this far.
But here are the 13 electoral votes he's talking about. And they are important, because we rate Virginia as a tossup right now. But I want to switch over to the map and come back to the primary map. This is the question I have for the governor. We are going to pull out the state of Virginia.
And Barack Obama won the state of Virginia big time, 64 percent to 35 percent, largely because of a huge African-American turnout in Richmond and like -- but this is the point of concern that I have looking at this map right now, if you're looking at this from the assessment of a Democrat. And let me show you why.
This is the Democratic primary. And these counties out here -- I will hit one or two of them -- Senator Clinton 75 percent, Senator Clinton 66 percent, Senator Clinton 71 percent. Now, let's go back here. Remember these. Watch these yellow lines. Let's go back to 2004. George W. Bush carries Virginia, and, wow, wins almost all of these counties out there. This is the South part of Virginia, if you will.
KAINE: Right.
KING: And, Governor Kaine, my question is, what is Barack Obama doing wrong, in that those white small rural voters are not voting for him? And let me ask you candidly, how much is his race a factor?
KAINE: Yes, John, well, let me tell you this.
The fact that folks voted in those regions for Hillary Clinton doesn't mean they are not going to vote for Barack Obama. There's a deep affection for the Clinton family and for Senator Clinton. But let me tell you this. The first event that Barack did after he was the putative nominee, he went to Bristol, Virginia, the first time a Democratic candidate had been there in 40 years.
He campaigned last week in Martinsville, Emporia, Lynchburg, parts of the state that over in that area you showed. Presence matters. He's puncturing through any skepticism and showing these voters that he cares about them.
COOPER: We heard from Governor Rendell earlier, who said that Barack Obama needs to move away in his state from these large rock- star-style crowds and get one-on-one with individuals to convince people.
(CROSSTALK)
KAINE: Anderson, I did an event with him in Chester, Virginia, last week, south of Richmond. And we did it picnic tables under pine trees with about 250 people. His opening line was, hey, where's the potato salad and chicken?
So, they're alternating the big events in the high school gyms and college gyms with smaller town hall settings that are very intimate. And I think that was good advice. And the campaign is doing it.
CARVILLE: Governor, I want to talk about Virginia a second, because I ran a campaign in '82. But it seems to me that the key area of that state is going to be Hampton Roads, southeast Virginia.
KAINE: Absolutely.
CARVILLE: I mean, I know he has got to do well out in south side and he's got do well in southwest, but the votes are there. And are they going to really target that Hampton Roads, that southeast Virginia?
(CROSSTALK)
KAINE: Northern Virginia is very Democratic. Hampton Roads is the second largest metro area, and it's a real jumble of traditionally Republican Virginia Beach, super Democratic Portsmouth and Norfolk.
I won Virginia Beach. Webb almost won Virginia Beach. We're starting to win these Republican areas. So, you're right. Jim is right. James is right. It's hand-to-hand combat in Hampton Roads. But 1.6 million people, it's a big region. And we have 33 offices open in Virginia, heavy in the Hampton Roads area.
BLITZER: And I'm just going to point what you know, governor, that the former governor, Mark Warner, no relation to John Warner, the outgoing senator, he's going to be giving the keynote speech here at this convention. That would be Wednesday night.
(CROSSTALK)
KAINE: Tomorrow night.
BLITZER: Is that Tuesday night? KAINE: Yes, Tuesday, on the economy.
BLITZER: Yes. Give us a preview.
KAINE: Well, Mark is a wiz on the economy. Tomorrow is economy night. And Mark is a guy who understands the new economy, understands how badly the Bush administration has hurt the nation's economy.
And you're going to hear Mark talking about the path forward. So, we have got Mark as a keynoter. They have given Virginia seats in front. We're usually in like the level F. And we're up in front. So, they're paying attention to us because we are so close and we can do this thing.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: You're finally getting a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, a little respect for Virginia among the Democrats.
KAINE: Indeed. A little respect, that's what we're seeking.
BLITZER: Governor, thanks very much for dropping by.
KAINE: You bet.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: We will be talking to you early and often as this campaign continues.
Did we mention that there are 71 days left between now and the election on November 4? And stay with CNN. We're going to be covering every step of the way.
Right now, we're here on the floor at the Democratic National Convention. We're the only cable news network anchoring from the floor of the convention. You will feel all the excitement. You will get all the information you need.
A lot more coming up. There's going to be a tribute to Jimmy Carter, later, an emotional tribute to Ted Kennedy. And the highlight of the night will almost certainly be Michelle Obama. She will be speaking about the love of her life. That would be her husband, Senator Barack Obama.
Stay with us. Stay with CNNPolitics.com -- much more of our coverage from the convention in Denver right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone, to our coverage of the Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado.
You can see the floor of the convention there.
And we know there's been a bit of a scheduling shift. Former President Jimmy Carter is going to be taking the stage shortly, and he is going to be preceded by a video that he's participated in about New Orleans and the situation there.
And I know James Carville is there in Denver.
And, James, you're back living in New Orleans now. Tell us what we're going to see tonight.
COOPER: She was saying that you just moved back to New Orleans and that Jimmy Carter's video is going to be based in New Orleans. What do you think President Carter is going to be focusing on? And how important do you think New Orleans and Katrina is to this crowd?
CARVILLE: Right.
Well, obviously, I haven't seen the video. But I'm sure that he is going to show what happened when the levees broke as a result of negligence on the part of the Corps of Engineers and the federal government.
I hope that it focuses on what we're doing, how we're rebuilding the levees there, and how they're going to be much safer, and also what we can do about coastal restoration. But I have no idea what it's going to say. I think that Katrina was a real seminal event in American political history, because I think people lost a lot of faith in the federal government in its ability not just to respond to Katrina, but the negligence that was exhibited in flood protection for New Orleans and Saint Bernard and Jefferson Parish particularly.
COOPER: We are also obviously coming up on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina just a few days from now.
How is the city doing as we're -- here's the Carter film. Let's watch.
CARVILLE: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. And we all know, it was one of the worst and most destructive hurricane storms in history.
One of the most vivid lessons that we saw after Katrina was a sharp distinction in the economic and social status of citizens who lived here in this devastated area with tens of thousands of suffering poor people, most of them African-American, with no care, and the federal government practically ignoring their plight.
And it was not only a demonstration to Americans of the inadequacy of the support from Washington, but it sent a signal around the world that our own government couldn't take care of our own people. And to see this happen and to continue for three years has been very discouraging.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are so honored that you took the time to come.
CARTER: Well, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And -- and it means a lot, because we're not fixed.
CARTER: You know, that's the kind of thing I need to be able to tell the whole nation because most people in America think everything's OK now.
It's a lesson we hadn't ought ever to forget in this country. And I don't have any doubt that when we have a Democrat back in the White House this January, Barack Obama, that he will make sure that this never happens again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have a bank, we don't have a supermarket, we don't have a hospital in this area, we have one small clinic. And we really need the thing for this community to come back properly.
CARTER: For the last 25 years since I left the White House, Rose and I have worked full time at the Carter Center and we have programs in 71 countries under us right now. Well, some of the things that we've seen in New Orleans after Katrina hit reminded us very much of the problem that we see in the poverty-stricken parts of the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no water, no.
CARTER: Yes. Remember I was here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gas, no. Electricity. And the National Guard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they couldn't come in.
CARTER: Yes, that's right.
Well, I've been out here to build homes side by side with these wonderful people in New Orleans who have never given up. Barack Obama has been out here to reach out to people and his deep awareness of what's going on in the gulf region. And his deep religious faith as a Christian and his background as someone who's come from nowhere, you might say, to a high position in the political world, all of those, I think, bode well for America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We still haven't collected from our insurance company.
CARTER: Well, that's true.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've gotten a lot of help from college students and volunteer groups. That's our biggest help.
CARTER: Yes, that's good -- the volunteers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, volunteers. CARTER: The thing that needs to be done in the future and it will be done under an Obama administration, is to heal this country. There would be a high priority of the basic rights of the working people of our country, not just the super rich. There would be a rational approach made towards solving other crisis, like the energy crisis. The Democrats are for the working people, for those in need, to improve their quality of life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had 23 feet of water and we have been forgotten back here. But it's my hope and faith is to see my neighborhood come back better than what it was because we did all of this.
CARTER: I would say that the most redeeming feature of the aftermath of Katrina has been the indomitable spirit of the people who suffered most. They were abandoned by their governments. They took their own initiative. They didn't just sit back and wait for outside help.
They welcomed tens of thousands of volunteers who came in as their partners when the government didn't do so. Their community spirit has been an inspiration to me and my wife, Rose, every time we've ever been here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to put yourself out of there. You have to say, I don't know the beginning to the end.
CARTER: There are people all over America and looking forward to an opportunity with the government's partnership. And the change that needs to be made next year is to have an administration in Washington that genuinely cares about the American people and their lives at this time and their future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome President Jimmy Carter!
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: The 39th president of the United States and Rosalynn Carter there. They're being very, very warmly received by the Democrats who have gathered here.
He was president of the United States from 1977 until 1981. In 2002, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for the advance of democracy and human rights.
Anderson Cooper, they love Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter here on this night.
COOPER: Certainly in this crowd on this night, it has brought the auditorium to their feet. Just about everybody is standing, waving their flags.
BLITZER: There he is. There they go. Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter, a tribute to the 39th president of the United States.
Let's go to that delegation in Georgia. We're hearing "Georgia on my Mind." Jessica Yellin is there with someone who really loves Jimmy Carter.
YELLIN: That's right, Wolf. I'm here with Maxine Goldstein...
MAXINE GOLDSTEIN, GEORGIA DELEGATE: That's right.
YELLIN: ... who has been to 11 conventions.
GOLDSTEIN: Absolutely.
YELLIN: And your first one was for?
GOLDSTEIN: Jimmy Carter.
YELLIN: Why are you a Carter fan?
GOLDSTEIN: Well, I just -- he stands for a lot of things that I believe in. I knew his family. I knew his mother very well. And we've just been friends for a long, long time. And I took a group to Waukesha, Wisconsin, to get him elected.
YELLIN: You know, tell me about your first hat. Let me tell you, she has a collection of hats, a different hat for every convention. I don't know if you can see this. One of her hats is in the Smithsonian, but she says she's had so many, she can't remember the one that's in the Smithsonian.
GOLDSTEIN: No, I don't, and I'm sorry.
YELLIN: You do remember your Jimmy Carter hat?
GOLDSTEIN: I do. It was the very first one, and I sewed peanuts all over the straw hat and was the start of my tradition. And my godson has been doing my hats ever since.
YELLIN: And finally, tell us about this hat. It's a little unusual.
GOLDSTEIN: It is.
YELLIN: Why is this?
GOLDSTEIN: This hat is what I think America has got to face up to. We're having bad economic problems. I feel like our economy is going down the drain and there's no better place to display it than my bathroom.
YELLIN: And you also have a bag that says -- her bag says --
GOLDSTEIN: On this side, it says, it's the economy. And you turn it around, and it says, stupid.
YELLIN: And finally, Wolf, I want to tell you today is Miss Goldstein's birthday. Can we say what birthday?
GOLDSTEIN: Oh, yes, absolutely, as long as I'm here to hear it.
Yes, 82.
YELLIN: Happy Birthday.
GOLDSTEIN: Thank you very much, Jessica.
YELLIN: Good to meet you.
Well, a very excited Georgia delegate. Back to you.
BLITZER: All right. She should be excited. 82 years old. She looks great.
You know, Anderson, I love her outfit, too. You and I are probably the most conservative.
COOPER: I was just thinking, you know, there are people watching this around the world on CNN International right now, and what must they think about America?
BLITZER: These are delegates.
COOPER: Yes.
BLITZER: These are delegates.
COOPER: The point in watching this is people watching this in Zambia saying, I don't understand this why she's got toilets on her out. What does this mean?
BLITZER: And we are being seen, by the way, around the world right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And by the --
BLITZER: So people all over the world are watching.
Let me just point out one little piece of irony. I know James Carville and John and Gloria, they'll have something to say about this as well.
They just had a tribute to Jimmy Carter. We're about to have another tribute to Ted Kennedy, who's here, even though he's suffering from brain cancer. And a lot of us remember the convention back in 1980 when Jimmy Carter, he got the Democratic presidential nomination. There was Teddy Kennedy who challenged him. It was not a pretty sight though at the very end.
James Carville, you remember that night. They barely shook hands. It was very bitter and Jimmy Carter went on to lose to Ronald Reagan.
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Right. BLITZER: And a lot of Democrats are praying right now that that historic moment isn't repeated at this convention.
CARVILLE: The chances of that happening exactly are zero. And again, as I said, that starting with the film tomorrow night and Senator Clinton and her remarks and President Clinton's remarks, can you imagine what would happen if Senator Clinton did the same thing that Senator Kennedy did back in 1980? This whole press corps would essentially go into some meltdown after like --
Jack Cafferty would have to douse the guy. But, no, that's not -- that is not going to happen. And it's going to be very supportive.
But one thing I want to point out here. It's not just up to Senator Clinton to get the Clinton people be for Obama. He has a role to play too, and he's got to appeal for them on Thursday night and got to deliver a strong message about that. These voters are not like some subprime mortgage that you can bundle up and somebody, you know, pass along to the next person. Senator Obama himself is going to be very instrumental in closing the deal with these voters.
COOPER: And is that woman right? Is it the economy, stupid?
CARVILLE: You know, I like her style. She's on message. I don't know where she got that expression.
COOPER: I'm not sure. Where did she get that expression?
CARVILLE: It's real genius.
BLITZER: You stole it from her, you know, you never know.
CARVILLE: Right.
BLITZER: She was around before you were around.
CARVILLE: 82. She's a little older than you and I.
BLITZER: All right, guys. We're going to continue our coverage here from the floor at the Democratic National Convention.
Remember, CNNpolitics.com is where you can get a lot more information. If you want to see what's happening exactly up on the podium right now throughout the night, we're streaming it at CNNpolitics.com.
Stay with us. Much more of our coverage right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REP. JESSE JACKSON JR. (D), ILLINOIS: I'm sure that Dr. King is looking down on us here in Denver, noting this is the first political convention in history to take place within sight of a mountaintop.
(APPLAUSE) On the day that President Johnson submitted the Voting Rights Acts to Congress, he said, at times, history and faith meet at a single place, at a single time, to shape a turning point in men's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord, so it was at Appomattox, so it was in Selma, Alabama. Tonight, I would add, and so it shall be in Denver, Colorado, with the nomination of Barack Obama, to be president of the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., the son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson speaking, an early supporter of Barack Obama, from Chicago himself.
JACKSON: Four years ago, as the keynote speaker is returning this year as our party's nominee. But for those of us who've known Barack over his decade in public office in Illinois, the yearning for change, the hunger for unity, that he's tapped into across this country has a familiar ring.
I remember when Barack first decided to run for the United States Senate. He had a remarkable career in the state Senate, reaching across the aisle to put a tax cut into the pockets of working families, to expand health care for more children and parents, and to take on lobbyists who had so much influence in Springfield. But despite this record, most in Springfield didn't take his candidacy all that seriously. The party establishment was skeptical of this young leader from the South Side.
They didn't know what to make of a man like Barack, with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas, and a funny name. They didn't see how this former community organizer could possibly defeat candidates with more money, more name recognition, more backing from "all the right people."
But here's the thing. That race wasn't going to be decided in the halls of power in Springfield, or on the lakefront high rises. It was not going to be decided by the powerbrokers or the opinion shapers. It was going to be decided by the people of Illinois. Illinois is America. America, we need you to be with Barack Obama.
(APPLAUSE)
Its great cities and small towns, its old factories and new industries, its timeless Midwestern values of faith, of family and hard work. And it's black and white, Latino and Asian, all living together as one Illinois family, as one America. And the people of Illinois were hungry for change. From the old factory towns of our industrial north, to the farms of our agrarian south, families have been struggling to make ends meet in this global economy. And more often than not, they've been harmed rather than helped by economic policies that failed to help them get ahead and reach their dreams.
But what they heard from Barack, as he traveled across the state, was a message of hope. Whether he was upstate, or downstate, whether he was talking with folks, who had been laid off and seen their jobs shipped overseas, or struggling families to keep up with rising costs, whether he was talking with recent immigrants, who wanted to know that America had a place for them, too, whether he was talking to African- Americans, who were falling further and further behind, Barack spoke of a powerful idea, the idea that's at the heart of who Barack is, the idea at the heart of who we are as Americans.
And the idea that at the heart of this campaign that we all have a stake in each other. That the well-being of the "we" depends upon the well-being of the "he" and the "she." And that in this country, we rise and fall together as one people, as one nation.
(APPLAUSE)
And what I saw in this campaign is what I'm seeing today. Ordinary men and women of all races, all religions, all walks of life coming together to demand a government in Washington that is as honest and decent and responsible as the American people.
Fellow Democrats, this is a historic moment. I know. I grew up with the lessons of another generation, the Selma generation, my father's generation. I know his stories of struggle and sacrifice, of fear and division. I know America is still a place where dreams are too often deferred and opportunities too often denied.
But here's what I also know. I know that while America may not be perfect, our union can always be perfected. I know that what we can achieve when good people with strong convictions come together around a common purpose. And I know what a great leader can do to help us build common ground.
America, we need such a leader, a leader who can heal the wounds of the last eight years, a leader who knows that what unites us is greater than what divides us. America, we need Barack Obama in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
I know Barack Obama. I've seen his leadership at work. I've seen the difference he made in the lives of people across Illinois. And that's why I know, for the sake of our children, for the sake of our families and the future we hold in common, he is the leader we need right now.
Forty-five years to the day after a young preacher called out, "let freedom ring," in this fourth week of August, in this Mile High City, Democrats, freedom in America has never rung from a higher mountaintop than it does today.
(APPLAUSE)
(MUSIC)
BORGER: Congressman Jesse Jackson speaking there, wrapping up his speech. We are still waiting to -- for the tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy, which is coming up shortly. Lots more ahead. Stay with us, from Denver, from New York. We'll be back with more of our coverage of the Democratic National Convention in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There he is, the vice-presidential candidate, Joe Biden. Look at that smile. He is a very, very happy guy there with his grandchildren, his family. You see his wife in the upper right hand corner, Jill Biden.
He says she's drop dead gorgeous, Anderson Cooper. She is drop dead gorgeous. He's very happy about that. James Carville is smiling.
Joe Biden, he's here. We're watching what's unfolding. We're standing by and we're also getting ready to hear, we hope, from Senator Ted Kennedy. There will be a tribute to him. Over the past few minutes though, this place literally, Anderson, has been rocking.
COOPER: They showed the picture of Senator Biden on the big screen. The crowd went wild, as they are doing right now. Again, that's what they're doing. They're showing his picture on the big screen inside this auditorium.
We should also point out that Senator Biden, after pointing out that his wife was very attractive, was very quick to point out that she has many advanced degrees as well.
BORGER: You know --
COOPER: -- (INAUDIBLE) she's the chief at a community college.
BORGER: The interesting fact that may not be known about Joe Biden, served 36 years in the Senate, may be one of the poorest senators. His net worth, according to Senate records is somewhere between 150 and $200,000. In the Senate, that's not wealthy.
COOPER: Not necessarily a list any senator wants to be on.
BORGER: Right. Exactly. But he's been a pro-license public servant.
COOPER: Elected at the age of 29, began serving at the age of 30, when he was finally sworn in.
John King, what are you hearing about the possibility, the probability of Senator Kennedy speaking tonight?
KING: Well, I was told just a short time ago and Gloria called her source as well, so both of our sources said that they were told Senator Kennedy is coming to the hall. That is the first barrier for Senator Kennedy to get on there because we understand the trip out here was not easy on him. But he had spent the day at a private residence, trying to rest up and get ready for this. And I also spoke to a top official who's orchestrating the podium, who said that his guy, he says the senator wants to speak and no one has told him, even in the last couple of hours, and he'd be checking if he's still coming, that that guidance changed.
So his take on it was, if the senator is going to come here, he's not scheduled to speak. But what his officials told me was I'm looking for an adrenaline moment and I expect him to want to go out there and speak. We're obviously waiting for that as we need to remind everyone he's a 76-year-old man in June, had surgery on his brain for brain cancer. And he's been -- he has times during the day when everyone says he has taken a sail almost every day since then, times during the day when everyone says he's perfectly energetic, but he gets very tired. So it depends on how is he doing on this day?
COOPER: Hey, Jim Carville, earlier we saw Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, on this stage. We saw a video that President Carter shot in New Orleans. Did it surprise you or did you expect that he did not speak here tonight? I mean, why wasn't he given a speaking role?
CARVILLE: I was a little surprised that for some reason I thought he expects that he did and he had spoken at many previous Democratic conventions. I don't know the reason behind that. I would be interested in finding that out also.
BORGER: You know, Jimmy Carter, while he's done wonderful human rights particularly in the state of New Orleans, he's become controversial lately particularly in his views regarding Israel. There's a question about the enthusiasm of Jewish voters for Barack Obama and this is just conjecture that could be one of the reasons why he didn't speak in this hall this evening. But we don't know for certain.
COOPER: Also, there have been those, as much as people have tried to link John McCain with George Bush, there are those who have tried to link a Barack Obama administration as a second term of the Jimmy Carter administration.
CARVILLE: If you do the film where he gives a five minute speech, I can't imagine it would make much difference any way or another. But I am sort of curious because I noted he'd spoken in past Democratic conventions. Perhaps it was his choice. I do not know the answer to that. I hope we can find out though.
KING: I think it's a fascinating question because politics is like a coin. There are two-sides to everything that's happening. And Jimmy Carter is a respected figure in the Democratic Party and especially I think in the country and around the world, for his humanitarian work. Habitat for Humanity and the like, and that's what that was about. But as Gloria said, his world views are in trouble and to Republicans, he is a poster child for a weak Democratic Party.
But that is what the Republicans would attack, but I also find it fascinating, James is better to speak about it than I am, that the last two Democrats who won the White House, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were from the South. And if the Democrats can't chip into the map of the South, the electoral map of the South, that is what makes this mountain west area so important, because the south with the exception possibly of Georgia and the high African-American turnout (INAUDIBLE) candidacy in the South, the Democrats know it's not happening.
BORGER: Well, that's why Barack Obama is trying to change the electoral map. He's trying to say, OK, maybe we're not going to win all over the south so that's why the mountain West is now so important to him, in a state like the one we're in.
BLITZER: But I believe, correct me if I am wrong, Barack Obama is from the South Side of Chicago, is that right?
BORGER: Right.
BLITZER: So there is the South Side of Chicago.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: It's the south. That's right.
All right, guys, they're rocking here on the floor at the Democratic Convention.
