September 6th, 2012

Sen. Schumer: I brought platform change to attention of White House; on Clinton speech – ‘Teach, baby, teach’

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) talks to CNN’s Soledad O’Brien on his impression of former President Bill Clinton’s speech at the DNC convention and role in the platform party change.

Sen. Schumer says, “He hit it out of the park. Let’s put it like this. If every American watched that speech the election would be over, and he perfectly teed it up for the president with all of this talk. You had Michelle Obama talking about what the president believes in and who he cares about. President Clinton explained the past. Now it is just ready for Barack Obama to explain what he will do in the future. If this convention has a rhythm, it has a direction, it has an excitement. I think it is great and I think I can’t predict whether there will be a big bounce after it. But I would bet the predicate for a gradual ascension of the Democratic ticket in November.”

When O’Brien asks if Clinton will take that message on the road, Schumer continues, “I think he will. That’s how he works. He will refine it. By October 20th, it will have somewhat slightly different twists and turns but the same basis.”

On the party platform change, Senator Schumer says that he brought the missing elements to the attention of the White House. He says, “Look, on the Jerusalem issue, which I have had some involvement in and did yesterday, it has always been the position of the Democratic Party, of the Democrats overwhelmingly that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Why it wasn’t in the platform, who knows, but when I brought it to the White House’s attention and others, the president himself intervened and said put it in. It was in the 2008 platform….”

Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.