Return to Transcripts main page

Campbell Brown

Democratic National Convention Day Two

Aired August 26, 2008 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's live coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's day two of the Democratic National Convention here at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, a night here that could have a significant impact on whether or not Barack Obama becomes the next president of the United States.

We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting, along with Campbell Brown.

You're going to be with us all this week. Welcome to the Democratic Convention, Campbell.

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.

BLITZER: Good to have you with us.

Gloria Borger is here, James Carville, our Democratic strategist. John King is here. He's going to going to be spending a lot of time at his magic map. We have the best analysts in the business. Need I say they are the best political team on television?

Joining us from the CNN Election Center, the full nine yards of those analysts. Bill Bennett is joining us, Jeff Toobin, Alex Castellanos, Carl Bernstein, and David Gergen. They have insight you will get nowhere else.

Also here in Denver with us, Roland Martin is here. And David Brody is joining us as well, David Brody, the senior correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network. Candy Crowley is on the podium. Jessica Yellin and Suzanne Malveaux are down on the floor.

Let's go to Candy, though, first.

Candy, this is a night when Hillary Clinton will be delivering her big speech. And it will set a tone for the remaining 70 or so days until this election on November 4.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It will.

It will also be seen in conjunction with what Barack Obama has to say on Thursday night, because for these Clinton delegates and for the Obama delegates, it's not just what their particular candidate has to say. It's what the other one says. So, you take the totality of those two speeches at the end of this convention and you will have a pretty good idea of how unified Democrats actually are. This be one of the most scrutinized speeches, I think, that Hillary Clinton has ever given. A lot of people in the Obama campaign, a lot of her supporters, people around her think that the Obama campaign has dissed her. A lot of people on the other side say, you know, what is it that the Clintons want? So, there has been an ongoing tension. But they seem very determined, at least at the top of this, the two candidates do seem extremely determined to go ahead and try to put this behind them, because they're both great politicians.

They both have a huge stake in seeing this party be successful in November, Barack Obama because of course he wants to be president, and Hillary Clinton because of course she wants to have a future in this party. And there's no way she can be seen as having dragged her feet in this election and she would be blamed for it. So, they both have a vested interest in having speeches tonight and on Thursday from Barack Obama that will convince Democrats that they need to come together and move forward in what is the best atmosphere Democrats have had for decades.

If they should not win the White House, somebody will be blamed, and Hillary Clinton doesn't want it to be her.

BLITZER: Candy, stand by for a moment.

Alejandro Escovedo is performing here. Let's listen in briefly, because that's part of what happens at these Democratic Conventions.

(MUSIC)

BLITZER: All right, he loves the people, as you can hear. They're rocking and rolling here on the floor at the Democratic National Convention.

I want to go to some of our reporters out on the floor.

Jessica Yellin, if you can hear me, if we can hear you, tell us where you are and what you're seeing.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm in the Virginia delegation, Wolf.

And I can tell you that all this politics we're talking about, the divisions between the Hillary people and the Obama people, that is sort of the secondary issue for folks here tonight. What they're focussed on is really almost a party. There's like a party-like atmosphere here, people talking a lot about how excited they are for this election to unfold.

A lot of energy among this group. You have seen the kooky hats. You have seen the people dancing. There is a sense of unity underneath it all. And there's an energized minority of Clinton people who do feel neglected. They feel they haven't been validated. There's another group of Clinton people who feel, you know what, they just want to vote for her and then they will move on. And the most common comment I have heard is the party will come together at the end of this week. We will just have to wait and see if Clinton's speech helps them get there -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we will be watching. We're counting down to that speech that's coming up shortly -- not necessarily shortly, during the 10:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

Suzanne Malveaux, where are you on the floor?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We're in the Texas delegation.

And, Wolf, very interesting, I actually talked to a state representative just a moment ago here. He represents South Texas, 95 percent Latino, and he says 85 percent went for Clinton, 15 percent for Obama. I asked him, how do they get over that hurdle? He says he's going to vote for Obama if she releases the delegates. We expect that to happen.

But he says they have never had a black representative before. They don't even have a black community there. So, he says there's a real cultural divide here that they kind of have to get beyond that. And he says what they're doing now is kind of focusing on the issues, trying to reach out to those voters, the people he represents, by saying, look, Barack Obama is a guy who actually represents us well when it comes to issues like health care and immigration. So, he says that is the real challenge here. And that's what they're looking for Hillary Clinton to try and smooth over, to make that connection, that bridge, because they just say they have never had any kind of a black leadership in their community -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes.

If our viewers are wondering what they're doing here at the convention, they're taking a panoramic class photo. They're trying to get a photo of everyone inside this Pepsi Center, about 20,000 people.

YELLIN: Yes, that should be easy, no problem.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Yes. So, they have got some panoramic photograph capabilities and they're trying to get that so-called class photo of what's going on.

Campbell, I don't know if they can do it, but, you know, there he is. There's the guy.

BROWN: I know. Look at him. He's like, sit down. I can't get everybody in the shot. Move a little closer together.

BLITZER: That looks like a sort of old-fashioned camera that they're working with. I don't know a lot about photography, but there it is. That's the shot that they want to take, and he has snapped it. Let's see if he can get everybody in that class. Everybody's waving at the same time.

They do strange things, James Carville, at these Democratic Conventions. As a lifelong Democrat, the Ragin' Cajun, they used to call you, explain.

(LAUGHTER)

JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, these are people that sort of come together. They have a common interest, Democratic politics, politics in general. And they're here for four days. They're seeing things, they're seeing people that they don't normally get a chance to see.

We have got some beautiful weather out here and then people are really fired up. And we're going to see that for the rest of the convention. If I might give you an analogy, tonight, Senator Clinton is going to set the table. She's going to do it beautifully. It's going to be fine china. It's going to be excellent stemware. It's going to all be sterling silver.

But understand, this Thursday night, Senator Obama has to cook the meal. She's going to do her job tonight. This is going to be a very nice table that she's going to set. Then Thursday night, I think Senator Obama's got to come in and do the meal. And I think -- and I really am optimistic that she's going to do quite well tonight. I really am.

BROWN: Well, James, do you see Bill Clinton fitting into all of this?

CARVILLE: I think that, tomorrow night, I think he's going to do a superb job, as he always does. There's no doubt that President Clinton is going to give a very good speech. There's no doubt that he's going to explain the election like he likes to do. He loves to be like a teacher. It'll be an explanation of where the world is.

I think he will talk about obstacles he faced when he ran, how people in the status quo fought against change and how Senator Obama's facing some of the same things. I think he's going to help set that table, if you will. He might even serve a small appetizer in anticipation for that big delicious meal that Senator Obama is going to cook.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Let's take that analogy as far as we can.

CARVILLE: Campbell, I'm from Louisiana, so everything relates to food.

(LAUGHTER)

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: So, James, I have to ask you this, only because we met with some Obama folks today. You created a stir at this convention by saying that, this wasn't on message. There wasn't a message coming out. And so someone in the Obama camp who I pulled aside, I said, so, have you talked to James? And this person said to me, well, he was taken to the woodshed.

CARVILLE: OK.

BORGER: OK. Can you elaborate on the woodshed?

CARVILLE: I have no -- the only call that I received was Sunday night when I was at the New Orleans party. Maggie Williams, who is a dear, dear friend of mine called and said, please be careful what you say, because anything they say, they're going to say Hillary put you up to it.

And I said, Maggie, I love you. Thank you very much for calling.

I was watching the convention here last night and saw two hours. And I said, if there is a message here, it's being pretty well hidden. So, I don't know I was -- if it was a woodshed. And I think that tonight, again, we're going to see a beautiful table set. I'm going to set the expectations. I think that Senator Clinton is going to just do a fine job tonight. I'm really looking forward to it. But that's the essence of the woodshed.

BLITZER: So, what he's saying -- and much more colorfully than I can say it -- what he's saying is that Hillary Clinton is going to do Barack Obama's advance work tonight.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think what he's saying is that Hillary Clinton is critical to this crowd in getting Barack Obama out of his convention with a unified party.

But I think James is making a point. Many people are saying we're spending too much time focusing on the Clinton drama. I would dispute that. I think we will know the exact percentages of people who are mad. And more important than the Hillary supporters in this room who might be mad are the Hillary voters out there, many of whom have voted Republican in past elections.

But what James is saying, as I think is a critical point, that the man atop the ticket wins the election. And there can be disagreement in the party, whether it's the Gary Hart-Mondale fight, whether it's the Kennedy-Carter fight, but the guy at the top wins or loses the election.

And if there are recriminations after, we can go back and look through them. But this is Barack Obama's election to win. The fundamentals all favor the Democrats. But he has a few steep hills he needs to climb first.

BROWN: David Gergen in New York, do you agree with that, that ultimately it's not really as important as what's said here tonight, that this is about a setting of the table, but he has to deliver, really deliver come Thursday?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: James is right about that.

But this speech tonight is the second most important speech of the convention and it is much anticipated. And it will be a powerful speech. But I have to tell you, after getting off to a strong start, I don't know what they're doing up there now.

The first 20 or 30 minutes of this convention tonight seemed to be off do a good start. But right now we're just sort of drifting around. We have got an hour-and-a-half almost before -- it's a little over two hours before Hillary Clinton speaks. They have got to get some more fire back into this. They cannot let these precious hours slip by.

It's so important for them to hold an audience, a building audience, building excitement, getting your message out. James knows this. He's been through this. So have the other folks here.

So, I'm -- I just can't -- they seem to have -- last night, they had about an hour-and-a-half of really strong programming that they put into five hours. And I don't think they helped themselves tonight. They have got to tighten this up and get this baby moving if they expect to really move the country.

BROWN: And, just, Wolf, I...

BLITZER: All right, hold on a second, everyone. I want to go to Candy. She's back on the podium right now.

Candy, you have been doing some reporting, as you always do, about Thursday night, the big night when Barack Obama accepts the Democratic presidential nomination.

CROWLEY: Well, I can tell you, Wolf, you all were talking earlier about whether or not Hillary Clinton would go to Invesco Field to listen to Barack Obama when he does his acceptance speech and speaks to those 75,000 people. The answer is yes.

Two Clinton aides tell me that, indeed, she intends to go. I said regardless of whether he wants her on the platform or not? They said, absolutely, she is going.

Now, I'm assuming -- and I will get back on the phone in a minute -- I'm assuming, of course, that the Obama people do want her on the platform for that family picture at the end. So -- but what we do know and what I can confirm for you is that she has plans to be at Invesco Field to hear that speech, Wolf.

BLITZER: And I hate to be greedy, Candy, but can you also find out if Bill Clinton will be up on that stage as well and Chelsea Clinton? We want all the information.

CROWLEY: OK.

BLITZER: We just don't want a little bit of it. We want to know everything.

CROWLEY: Absolutely. And, as you know...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: James, you're here right now. What can you tell us?

CARVILLE: No.

BLITZER: Bill Clinton?

CARVILLE: No.

BLITZER: Why?

CARVILLE: Because I think Senator Clinton ran this race. I think she's the person to sort of unify the party. I think it's Barack Obama's night. I think Hillary Clinton should be there in a complementary role. I think Senator Biden will be up there. And I have already offered my opinion. And my opinion is that he should not go.

Now, that's only one opinion, but that's mine.

BLITZER: We will hear if your former boss listens...

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: Yes. It would be unusual if he did. But I have expressed it to him and I have also now expressed it on the air.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: All right, guys, stand by, because we're going to continue our coverage here from the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

We're standing by to hear from the keynote address, the former Governor of Virginia Mark Warner. He's running for the U.S. Senate.

Remember, CNNPolitics.com, that's where you should go. You can see all the activity live. It's streamed. Get a lot more information there as well.

Our coverage will continue from Denver right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're trying to give you a ringside seat here at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Welcome back to our continuing coverage.

Let's go back to John King. He's over at the magic map right now.

One of the key questions that people are asking, how does Barack Obama win those states that he lost to Hillary Clinton, especially those battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio? KING: Well, let's show you some of the scenarios, Wolf.

Some say that he has to make up all those ground. Some in the Obama campaign say they could lose. They're not giving them up, but they could lose those states in the general election and still play.

Here's your national map right here. Let's use a look and we will give you our first look at the convention floor to give you a sense of what we're talking about. Now, remember, the Florida delegates have now all been seated. That was not a contest that counted early on, because they moved up ahead of the Democratic rules.

But even though the Obama campaign doesn't think this was a fair fight, Senator Clinton won Florida, 27 electoral votes. We all know from 2000 and again in 2004 this is a critical swing state that went Republican. Barack Obama would like to come out of here with narrowing the gap in Florida, where he now trails John McCain.

Let's shrink Florida back down. The other big state in the Democratic primaries that didn't count, remember, in the nomination process but the delegations have now been fully seated, Senator Clinton had more support in Michigan, a key industrial battleground, 17 electoral votes, another big target for Barack Obama as he tries to make peace here in Denver.

And let's look at one more state on the floor map first, the state of Ohio right here. And it's significant because of this. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio. The Obama campaign believes, as many Democrats in the past have, you win Ohio, you deny the Republicans a victory, a big 20 electoral votes here.

Now, let's take away our floor map. And we will show you this throughout the week here. And let's go to our Electoral College map and I will show you what I mean. This is where we have things right now. You have to get to 270. We have Barack Obama at about 221, John McCain at 189.

Now, if Barack Obama could somehow put Michigan on his side, put Ohio on his side, and win the state of Florida, he's the next president of the United States. He doesn't have to worry about anything else. Now, that's a huge task of course because these are states that tend to lean Republican.

So, let's give McCain back Florida. Let's give McCain back Ohio. And let's even give John McCain Michigan. Let's say Barack Obama cannot make up the ground in those three states where Senator Clinton did so well in the early contests. Now, again, we have John McCain at this point we be in the lead and need only 20 votes to win the race. Barack Obama would have to make it up.

That, Wolf, is why where we are this week is so important. Barack Obama believes he can get some of those electoral votes back. Look right here. We're in Colorado. That's nine electoral votes. Well, let's give those to Barack Obama, if he can win this state. They believe New Mexico is another big target, five electoral votes there.

If the Democrats can come back out here in the West, Nevada, another state with a Latino vote and the union vote, will be huge. Let's swing that one over to the blue column. Now Barack Obama has pulled just about even. He also believes -- and you're going to have the keynote speech tonight from Mark Warner of Virginia.

If they can turn Virginia blue, guess what we have there? A dead heat, 253 to 253 under this scenario. And what does it come down to? We're out in Iowa. That's the state that started Barack Obama. He thinks he wins there. This would be a key battleground, the state of Minnesota. Let's give it to the Democrats for now. Barack Obama hits the line at 270 right there.

So, what we're trying to show you here is the electoral map based on the conditions now in the country favors Obama. But it would be a lot easier, Wolf, if he could make peace with Democrats and then reach out to swing voters in those big states, Michigan, Florida, and Ohio that were so critical for Senator Clinton in the primary season.

BLITZER: And do me a favor, John. Go back to the seating of the delegations here on the floor of the Democratic Convention.

Two states, Florida and Michigan, they moved up their primaries against the rules of the DNC. They were supposed to be punished. Their votes weren't supposed to be counted. They're now going to be fully counted. And they seem to have pretty good real estate here. It doesn't look like those two states have been punished very much, does it, John?

KING: And their delegations have now been fully seated as well, Wolf.

Look, Barack Obama knew coming in here there were hard feelings in both of those states for how things went down during the primary season. And he also knows how crucial they are and how much easier it is for him to win the election if he can win at least one of those states, if not both of those states. So you're exactly right.

This is what you call prime real estate down here in the center floor, right in the middle of Barack Obama's home state. So they're sitting right next to Barack Obama's best friends, plenty of time to go over and lobby Florida, go over and lobby Michigan and say it's time to make peace, let's move forward. We need one of you, hopefully two of you, come November.

BLITZER: Those delegates from Florida and Michigan, Campbell, early on, they were worried they would have nothing coming out over here because they broke the rules. And look what they did. They got top seats.

BROWN: Inspiring future rebellions, no doubt.

BLITZER: Front-row orchestra right here at the convention.

BROWN: One of the other interesting points I think John made in talking about those crucial states as we have heard David and others say how there isn't enough sort of red meat and excitement coming out of the convention, but the people who are on the stage are the governors of those states, people representing those battlegrounds, speaking directly to those people. It's not necessarily a national audience always, right? Or...

BORGER: No, it isn't.

And one thing, when you talk to the Obama campaign that they talk about, is don't forget the intensity of our voters. There is a real enthusiasm gap that we have seen in the primaries. And they say it still exists and that they have registered so many new voters, for example, 360,000 in the state of Pennsylvania.

They say that's going to make the margin of difference for them, particularly in those hard-fought battleground states like Florida, like Pennsylvania, like Ohio, and the new map in the Rocky Mountain West, where we are. They're registering voters.

BROWN: Follow up on that, David Brody. I know we haven't heard from you in a while about what you think in terms of those states. Is it realistic the scenario that John King just laid out for us?

DAVID BRODY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I think what's going to go on here, Campbell, if I could hear part of what you were saying, is that this electoral map is going to change quite a bit depending on what John McCain does with his vice presidential pick.

I want to pick up on something John King mentioned earlier. If he goes with Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota obviously becomes more in play, Michigan if he goes with Romney as the pick.

I also want to just bring you up to speed a little bit. I was talking to a source tonight, and a Republican strategist tells me tomorrow it looks like there's going to be a huge Rolling Thunder bike rally right through Denver organized by a grassroots group.

Of course, tomorrow is the national security theme here at the Democratic National Convention. And there are all of these bikers coming into Denver tomorrow, according to a Republican strategist, telling me this, to show their support to John McCain, which leads me to the whole point of the elephant in the room, so to speak, the elephant, which is national security.

Who is going to make the case, if you think about this, Campbell, for Barack Obama and the experience issue? Who is going to get up on that stage? You would think it would be President Clinton tomorrow night, but he's going to have a tough sell on that. And that's why it's very important that someone make that case.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, David, here's the problem with...

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Is that going to be Joe Biden, Roland, do you think, focusing on the national security issues tomorrow night?

MARTIN: No, I think Joe Biden will touch upon that. But they have to hit the economy.

If the Democrats try to fight back with the Republicans hard on national security, you're playing into their area. They should be attacking them on the economy. That's where John McCain is weak. If I'm Senator Barack Obama's campaign, I'm sending my volunteers to every McCain rally with Alan Greenspan's book, saying, hey, you said you knew nothing about it. The Greenspan book, here you go, dude. Learn about the economy.

If you play their game, you lose.

And let me say this here. David just talked about this whole Rolling Thunder. I was sitting in traffic for an hour. They're not going to go anywhere if they come rolling through Denver, because the traffic and the security lines are crazy here. So, nice idea on that whole deal there, David. So, we will see what happens.

BROWN: Are they both -- Wolf, are -- what we're hearing from both Roland and David, sort of making the point I think James raised earlier, is that there isn't a coherent message. David is out there saying it's all about national security, which as we know is the theme tomorrow night. But at the same time, you have got a lot of Democrats, you have, Roland just made the case for making the singular message about the economy.

CARVILLE: Well, to be fair, I think Senator Clinton's going to get this thing kicked off tonight and really give it some focus.

I think, you know, Governor Warner probably knows as much about the economy as anybody, a successful businessman. The Virginia economy was off the charts when he was governor. I think he's going to bring that message home beautifully. I think President Clinton, most successful economic president we have probably had in the history of the United States, I think he's going to bring it home beautifully.

I think Roland's going to be very pleased with what he's getting ready to hear from now through the end of this campaign. I think Senator Obama again is going to serve the dish. And I think he's going to talk about foreign policy, too.

But I think starting tonight, with Senator Clinton and Governor Warner, I think the setup is coming. At least, I hope it is. I'm waiting. I think it's going to come.

BROWN: John?

KING: If there's a challenge for this party, though, if there's a big challenge for this party, even on the issue they should dominate, the economy, it's that you have the number-one and the number-three, according to that ranking, most liberal members of the United States Senate.

And in the states I just mentioned, you can't win with just Democrats. You have to get some moderate Republican votes. You have to get independent votes.

James Carville ran the campaign for a different kind of Democrat, who said, I'm going to raise taxes on the rich, cut them on the middle class. But the whole tone of his convention was a new, more moderate, centrist Democratic Party.

We're watching labor union president after labor union president up here. And I'm just wondering if some of this will play into a traditional Republican tax-and-spend argument.

BORGER: Well, that's it, because the one argument we haven't heard is the argument about who is going to raise your taxes and who is going to lower your taxes. And, in battleground states, don't underestimate the issue of taxes and am I going to have to pay more now.

We haven't heard much about that. Barack Obama says he's going to cut taxes for the middle class.

BROWN: We will next week.

BORGER: Right. Right. We will hear it from the Republicans. You're right, Campbell. But we have to hear it from the Democrats.

CARVILLE: I guess that Democrats are not going to get up and remind people about the economy in the '90s. We're not going to remind people about the surplus.

We're not going to remind people about $6,000 in income growth, compared to $1,000 negative income growth under Bush.

BORGER: Why not?

CARVILLE: We better.

There's not a single -- there's not a single economic performance, other than a mild -- and I'm talking about like a 2 percent difference in inflation -- that Democratic presidents don't perform better than Republican presidents. I would give anything if somebody would get up on that podium and say that. I would pay them.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You forgot, James, the 25 million jobs that were created in the '90s. You're forgetting all those...

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: They were his talking points.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: I'm trying not overthink, but something tells me that we're going to hear about this between now and the end of this convention. I hope so.

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: John McCain, as Campbell was saying, has been very effective in saying, if you want your taxes to go up, vote for Barack Obama.

Well, he's got to counter that here. People don't want their taxes to go up.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: People, all we need to do -- John McCain said, I agree with George Bush on every big issue. He campaigned around the country to put Social Security funds in subprime mortgages.

We better get up there and say that. If somebody doesn't get up on that podium and say it, I'm going to like throw somebody up there to say it.

BLITZER: All right.

Guys, hold on for a second. Janet Napolitano, the governor of Arizona, the home state of John McCain, she's speaking right now.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO (D), ARIZONA: ... doesn't understand how the policies he has supported and wants to perpetuate have so terribly misfired.

We cannot afford four more years of failing economics and a falling economy. For the change we need to lift working-class families across our nation, for the change we need to ensure the American dream is within reach of all of us, we must send Barack Obama to the White House.

Now, as chair of the Platform Drafting Committee, I've listened to Americans tell me just how badly the Bush-McCain economic policies have failed. How deeply concerned they are about the future and how high the stakes are for this election.

For example, I heard from Marcy Wasiak (ph), of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, a mother of four who has worked in a print shop for 22 years. Marcy's money stretches only far enough for gas and for groceries. She wants better for her four sons, but one of them had to drop out of college because she makes too much to qualify for financial aid.

Our children can't afford more of the same. I heard -- I heard from David Landrom (ph) -- David Landrom (ph) of Indiana who was worked for the same refrigerator plant for the past 24 years. Now the plant is closing and he risks losing his entire pension less than a year before retirement. Our seniors can't afford more of the same.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Janet Napolitano, one of Barack Obama's most ardent, most outspoken supporters. The governor of Arizona, John McCain's home state making the case. She told me only the other day she thinks she actually thinks that Barack Obama has a chance of carrying Arizona even though McCain is the senator from Arizona. A lot of people doubt that. But she says it is definitely doable.

The state we are in right now, Colorado, is more doable for Barack Obama. This is a battleground state and it's one of the reasons why the Democrats decided they would hold their convention here in Denver right now. It's only the second time that Denver has been the host city of a convention.

This is the convention the Democrats will be nominating Barack Obama to be their presidential candidate. Joe Biden will be the vice presidential candidate. He'll be speaking tomorrow.

Tonight, though, the big speaker will be Hillary Clinton. We're standing by to hear from her. Our coverage will continue from Denver right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody, to our coverage of the Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado. Here with the best political team on television, Gloria Borger just telling me a few moments ago that she got an unsolicited phone call from Republicans today.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

BROWN: A prebuttal, if you will, of Hillary Clinton's speech tonight. What did they say?

BORGER: First of all, I want to say keep those unsolicited calls coming in. We appreciate it.

BROWN: They're rare and frankly appreciate it.

BORGER: It's totally appreciated. And it was a prebuttal to Hillary Clinton. I was told today by somebody in the McCain campaign, look, Hillary Clinton is a flawed messenger because everybody knows that she doesn't like Barack Obama. So if she comes out there tonight praising Obama, Hillary Clinton will lose her authenticity.

So they're saying, you know what? She's going to come out, you know she's not telling the truth. You know she doesn't really like him.

JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I have a question.

BORGER: John, yes.

KING: So that when John McCain campaigned for George W. Bush in 2004 and took the big ride on Air Force One and campaigned in battleground states after saying that Bush ran a terrible smear campaign against him in 2000 and after voting against the Bush tax cuts, then John McCain loses authenticity. And sometimes here --

BORGER: Are you suggesting hypocrisy here?

KING: I'm suggesting that sometimes people should maybe think about what their own candidates did before they get into these involvements. It is a whacky business we're in, and sometimes we think too hard and sometimes I think they think too hard too.

BORGER: But in fact, they were both doing the same thing. I mean Bush and McCain had to support Bush just as Hillary Clinton has got to do what's right for her party. It's the same deal.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, what happens in the primary normally stays in the primary. And these candidates often say things during the primary that they don't want repeated in the general election. I mean, after all, George Herbert Walker Bush, number 41, called Reaganomics "voodoo economics." And he later became his vice presidential candidate and campaigned across the country to elect Ronald Reagan.

BROWN: Let me ask you though, I heard one Republican strategist make this case that what Hillary Clinton really should do is what George H.W. Bush did, which is essentially come out and apologize and say, yes, I attacked my opponent. I was much tougher on him than I should have been. I wish I hadn't been. I regret it and I'm sorry.

BRAZILE: Well, I disagree. I think Hillary Clinton should come out tonight and thank her supporters. Thank the millions of Americans who backed her during the primary, and then make the case for Barack Obama and to define the choice this fall.

KING: And to do what you just said, she would lose her authenticity because Hillary Clinton still believes to this day she would be a stronger general election candidate and a better president than Barack Obama. However, she is a capital "D" Democrat and she understands she lost, and it's her responsibility now to get behind the party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To step up.

BORGER: Although, Joe Biden sort of made the case in his speech the other day that the more he's gotten to know Barack Obama, the more he believes that he can run the country and be a commander in chief. And that's how he got out of his little problem during the debates, during the primaries.

So, you know, he did back off on it a bit. I think Hillary Clinton, though, does have to talk about the commander in chief issue tonight. I mean, I know this is supposed to be an economic speech and it will be a largely economic speech, but there was that 3:00 a.m. phone call ad.

BROWN: She made it the issue David Gergen, and does she have to address that in some way?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think she does have to address a whole number of issues tonight. I think it's going to be one of the most challenging speeches if anyone has ever given. But you know what, this old adage about women in this position where you have to be Ginger Rogers dancing with Fred Astaire, except that you've got to do it backwards in high heels. And, you know, I think that's one of her challenges tonight.

She's just -- everybody is putting a lot of weight on her to do about 14 things all in the same speech. I think the main thing she needs to do tonight is to unify Democrats around Obama and around a battle cry for the fall that centers on the economy.

BROWN: Jeff Toobin, would an apology be outrageous as far as you're concerned? Unlikely probably?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Don't hold your breath for an apology. There will be no apology coming from Hillary Clinton, nor should she. She ran a tough campaign. She was running for president. She tried to win. There was nothing to apologize for there.

But I do think we may be overcomplicating things. The message that has succeeded so far for Barack Obama and succeeding for Democrats all over the country, remember, Democrats are doing great in congressional races around the country, is change versus more of the same.

The country is in trouble. Eighty percent of the people think we're on the wrong track. Change versus more of the same. Yes, it has to be fleshed out a little, but it doesn't have to be fleshed out that much. The message is throw the Republicans out.

BROWN: David Brody, do you agree with that?

DAVID BRODY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, yes, I also think authenticity, you know, we've talked a lot about authenticity tonight. And it's extremely important for Hillary Clinton to come across as authentic.

Now the question is, how does she do that? And I think the answer is to have a cathartic process here. In other words, you can't keep all of this hidden. Everybody in the room knows what just happened in the last six months or so and then longer really in the Democrat primary.

I mean, everybody knows what happened and therefore you have to address it. So it's no apology needed, absolutely not. But at the same time, she has to speak to those supporters tonight and say you know what? I hear you. We had a tough fight, we're moving on.

But she has to do more than that. It can't just be a generic line. I think she needs to take it a step further, Campbell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Campbell, also, as far as --

BROWN: Carl -- Carl Bernstein, the biographer of Hillary Clinton. What should her message be?

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I talked to someone who has been speaking with her and knows what her feelings are, at least as she has expressed them. And that is, look, she doesn't really like Barack Obama. She's still angry and wounded about what happened. But she's prepared to move on and she is a Democrat with a capital "D." And she believes in the Democrats' message and knows that her legacy and her husband's are at stake here.

And if she has to deliver, this is one of the biggest speeches of her life tonight. It is up to her, you know, in terms of anything that she had to do in the White House. And as David says, it is a very tricky thing she has to do because a lot of people are going to be saying, does she mean it? And that's the message the Republicans are going to hit hard.

She doesn't mean it. They're going to throw back the ads. But she can be very convincing. Watch.

BROWN: Roland Martin?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Campbell, last night I talked to a couple of major Clinton fundraisers, one of them a friend of hers for 30 years. He said she likes Obama. He said they get along.

He said there was no doubt they had a tough primary. He said the issue really, this whole Biden issue that you've been hearing is because many of her supporters, usually a lot of them are fundraisers who are not happy at all with what's taken place. But he was emphatic.

And this is a guy who raised several millions for Hillary Clinton. He said she doesn't "D" like Barack Obama and he was cutting us to pieces saying, look, I know you guys are talking to, but I've known this woman for 30 years. I talk to her all the time. She is not going to lie to me.

He said, if you get the shot, hey, make it plain that they do have a relationship, but the reality is in a very tight close race, you still have a feeling like, man, a few more, I could have been given that speech on Thursday.

He says she's going to bring it tonight. She's going to bring it strong. And she is going to do exactly what she needs to do to bring this party together to give them the focus on John McCain.

BLITZER: And you heard that same message coming from James Carville who's obviously very close to the Clintons.

Roland, did you hear that interview that Suzanne Malveaux had with Bob Johnson, the founder of BET, Black Entertainment Television, in which he said even though he had been a huge Hillary Clinton supporter, he's recently raised $200,000 for Barack Obama. Did you hear that?

MARTIN: Well, actually, Bob Johnson just finished doing an interview. I didn't hear Suzanne. I did hear on my radio station WBON talked with our guy.

And let me tell you something, Bob Johnson has to do that. I mean, you know, Bob Johnson has some serious problems with his own constituency because of some of the comments he made. So don't just think he's raising $200,000 out of the kindness of his heart.

Bob Johnson got his butt kicked by a lot of people and so he's trying to raise some money to save his own hide when it comes to a lot of the people who he knows in this party.

BLITZER: All right, Roland. You've got to tell us next time what you really think about this aspect of the fund raising battle.

Roland Martin standby. Everyone, standby, because we have a lot more to go.

Tonight, by the way, Jennifer Granholm, the governor of Michigan, is up on the stage right now. We'll take a quick break. Much more of our coverage from Denver right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to the Democratic National Convention. We're here at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. We're standing by Hillary Clinton as we've been reminding you will be the featured speaker. That's coming up later tonight.

David Gergen is someone who has watched these conventions for a long time. You've been an adviser to four American presidents. You want to make sure that the Democrats this week and the Republicans next week that their differences are very, very clear to the voters out there.

Today, there's only 70 days left. There's going to be a sprint until November 4th. And what both parties will try to do is make it abundantly clear that, you know, that these are not the same parties. There are very, very significant political differences.

GERGEN: Well, Wolf, I think one thing is clear that the people who really count on this are not sort of speaking here, but the voters and how they make up their minds themselves. But I do think from what we're seeing on television that next week's convention from the Republicans, I can guarantee you having worked there for Republicans at one time, I can guarantee you they will have a highly choreographed and very pointed convention, in which they're going to make a very strong argument, a central argument that whatever condition the country is in now, it's too big a risk. Too dangerous a time to turn it over to Barack Obama and the Democrats. That's going to be their central message.

And the issue that I think James Carville and Paul Begala and I have all been raising, and I've worked on both sides of this is whether the Democrats and their convention can capture some battle cry that sends them united into this campaign.

And, you know, they got a very good case. They've got a very strong case against what's going to happen economically. And we do face -- the next president of the United States faces the most difficult challenges of any president I've worked for in modern times.

I think we have to go all the way back to March of '33 and Franklin Roosevelt to find a time when a president is going to face bigger difficulties in the next one. So this is an important time to really keep conversation with a country and to fire up the Democrats about, you know, how we're going to get through this and why the Democratic path would be different from the Republican path.

It's easy to make the case about the Clinton years versus the Bush years from the Democratic point of view as James Carville has been saying. But what's important, what people really want to hear is, what is -- what will the path be like under Senator Obama? How is it different from what we're seeing? And why am I -- should I be persuaded?

And I think so far while Obama has -- does have a lot of specifics, I don't think that's what we're looking for from him. I think the Democrats have not yet made a case, a convincing case for the country of why they have a plan on the economy that will really advance us. They haven't put it in the sort of Reaganesque terms that Reagan found so compelling. They've got the same question to ask what Reagan did.

You know, when a famous lady in 1980 even Reagan asked, are you better off today than four years ago? It was a convincing argument against Jimmy Carter.

The Democrats can now ask, are you better off today than you were eight years ago? That's a convincing question. But they've then got to say, and here's the alternative that we go on as a country if you bring us to the White House if we're so fortunate.

BLITZER: All right. We'll see if the Democrats are able to do that because over the years they've been severely criticized that they're not tough enough in the political arena. That the Republicans simply do a better job in what's called negative attack politics than the Democrats do. We'll see how they do in these remaining 70 days of this campaign.

We'll take another quick break. CNNpolitics.com is where you can see everything happening up on the stage. Behind me CNNpolitics.com, you can also get a lot of additional information. Much more of our coverage from Denver right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. I want to go right down to the floor. Suzanne Malveaux is in the delegation of the state of Alabama with a very special guest and a very tall guest. Big guy, Suzanne, tell us who you have there.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We've got basketball star Charles Barkley. Can you tell I'm actually standing on a step here, Wolf? I'm not actually the same height as Charles Barkley.

Obviously it is great to have you here. We know that you, Sir Charles, are very outspoken. You follow politics a lot. Tell us, are you a delegate? Tell us why you're here?

CHARLES BARKLEY, TNT ANALYST: I'm not a delegate. I just want to be here. Barack's a friend of mine. I think he's going to make a fantastic president. Never thought in my lifetime I'd see a black man get the nomination. And I want to be here. It is historical. MALVEAUX: Do you think that he made the right decision by not picking Hillary Clinton? She's going to be speaking the keynote address here. Do you think he needed her?

BARKLEY: I don't think it would have worked because her personality and her husband. I think Bill Clinton is the greatest president I've ever in my lifetime. But I think his personality and her personality, it would have been always a constant conflict. And I think he made, Mr. Biden, I know him a little bit, is a fantastic man.

MALVEAUX: Now, you said in the past that you were Republican and then Democrat.

BARKLEY: No, I said I was rich like a Republican.

MALVEAUX: Rich like the Republican.

BARKLEY: Yes.

MALVEAUX: What are you?

BARKLEY: First of all, I'm an independent. But you know, a reporter asked me one day my family, my mother and my grandmother whether we were Democrats or Republicans. And I said -- they said Republicans are only for rich people.

I had to break the news to them that we were rich. But the reason I'm voting Democrat number one, I think Barack would make a fantastic president.

But the gap between the rich and poor in America is so astronomical. And for the record, I don't -- it won't have any affect on me whatsoever financially who is the president of the United States. But I think I have to look at the big picture. I think we need a Democrat in there to give poor people a chance.

MALVEAUX: You've actually talked to yourself about perhaps running for the governor of Alabama. Are you still thinking about that? Is that a possibility?

BARKLEY: I'm thinking very serious about it. You know, Alabama, we're number 48 in the country. We need economic opportunities. We've got a terrible school system. We've got to get people in better shape.

We're the fattest state. We're number one in diabetes, stroke and hypertension. We've got to get some programs started. You know, a lot of poor states are in that situation.

MALVEAUX: And what would you run in? Would you run as an independent or a Democrat? Or what are you leaning towards?

BARKLEY: Well, I really would like to run as an independent. But both parties are so corrupt and it's going to be hard to win as an independent. You know, so like I say, I would really love to run as an independent. But both of the parties are so corrupt, it's going to be very hard to win as an independent. But I would never run as a Republican.

MALVEAUX: Do you think it'll be a tough race? Are you seriously considering it? What have you done?

BARKLEY: Well, I think it'll be a tough race, but you know what, I look at the bright side. I can't screw up Alabama. I mean, we've been number 48 for a long time. We should be better.

It's a great place, but the people there, they're depressed. You know, economics, this country is really right now struggling economically. They're shipping all of our jobs overseas, and that's sad to me.

MALVEAUX: How much do you think this race, this contest really involves race or racism? There are some people who are looking at the polls and they say it's getting awfully close with John McCain that perhaps there's an element there of people just not wanting to vote for a black man. Do you believe that's true?

BARKLEY: Yes, I think racism is the greatest cancer in my lifetime. I think anybody, black or white, who is racist I think they're an idiot. But the truth of the matter is this race is going to come down to whether white people will have enough faith to trust a black man.

First of all, they're always going to say the correct things on television. Now if you put up a microphone in front of them, they're going to say, yes, I want -- I think I would vote for a black president. The key is going to be what happens when they get in that booth.

Because I can say, unless he gets a good percentage of white votes, he's not going to win. I hope they open up their hearts and look at him for just being a man. But unfortunately, it's not always going to be like that. There's a third faction and you never going to vote for a black man.

MALVEAUX: Do you think that he needs to do something to convince people that he's not doing now?

BARKLEY: There's nothing he can do. He's done everything. First of all, he's a wonderful guy. You know, people get on him because he's got great charisma, like he should be embarrassed because he's articulate and speaks very well.

But he's got good policies. Do I agree? I don't agree with anything every politician says. Well, I guess I'm voting for him. I think he'll make a fantastic president. And I think the Democrats have a better view of trying to bring the underclass and the middle class back to light.

MALVEAUX: What do you think about the final day on Thursday when he accepts the nomination?