DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) joins Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien to discuss the party platform change on Israel, saying it was a “technical omission.”
O’Brien says, “But It seems like an important issue to have a mess up on. Right, I mean of all the issues, of all of the things that you could have a mistake on, this particular one seems like a really big one to be like ‘Oh, technical issue.’ That’s why I think people are a little cynical about that.”
Rep. Wasserman Schultz explains, “When President Obama realized that an important issue like Jerusalem, which he believes is and should remain the capital of Israel, when he realized that that omission was there, unlike Mitt Romney, who says that he opposes his party’s platform on human life, and that he wants an exception for rape, incest and the life of the mother, never insisted, never did anything about it, didn’t even try to change it, President Obama, when he realized there was this omission, said this platform should reflect my personal view and now it does."
CNN Contributor David Frum says, “The reason what you’re saying is so non-credible is because we all know that President Obama does not feel strongly about Jerusalem. He walked back his APAC speech in 2008. In his Middle - big Middle East final status speech. He made a commitment on borders. He did not make a commitment on Jerusalem. We all know he doesn’t feel stronger about it, that’s why this is explosive.
“I strongly - strongly object and disagree with you,” Wasserman Schultz says. “President Obama as Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said has been a strong friend of Israel.”
Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.
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.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) responds to party platform change and former President Bill Clinton’s speech, live from the CNN Grill in Charlotte on Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien.
Mayor Booker says, “Sometimes as bad as it might seem, [there are] imperfections. [There are] mistakes made.”
He continues, “Let’s not create a partisan issue out of a nonpartisan issue…. Here we have a simple omission that was corrected by the democratic party….”
Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.
CNN senior vice president and Washington Bureau Sam Feist talks – in a behind-the-scenes video from the CNN Grill – about how CNN covers the national conventions in different cities on back-to-back weekends. Feist also recaps the take-aways from the RNC and what story lines he think will resonate at the DNC.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro (D) and his brother State Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) join Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien to talk about the DNC convention keynote address and the Latino vote in the presidential election.
Mayor Castro says, “The problem for the Republicans and the reason that Latinos are showing up in polls at 70 to 25 for President Obama is not the personalities. It's the substance of the policies on all of those things, healthcare, immigration, tax policy, the economy.”
Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.
Chicago Mayor and President Obama Campaign Co-Chair Rahm Emanuel talks about his speech last night at the DNC conventinon, President Obama’s first term, the work that still needs to be done, the difference between the two presidential candidates and GOP positions during the Obama and Clinton years.
Mayor Emanuel says, “I was in the Clinton White House…. It was the same type of battles we have today against a recalcitrant party that put ideology over progress.”
Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.
Governor Dannel Malloy (D-CT) joins Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien at the CNN Grill in Charlotte to talk about President Obama’s record.
Gov. Malloy says to Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), “Which president saved the automobile industry? Your candidate wanted the automobile industry to go bankrupt. That’s what he said. He wrote an editorial in the paper. That would have cost another million jobs…. And by the way, when you talk about your desire to create jobs, where have you been on a jobs bill?”
Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.
Today at the DNC, CNN political reporter Peter Hamby hosted a live 15-minute web show from the CNN Grill. He discussed the day’s convention buzz and took questions from social media – much like he did last week at the RNC in Tampa. Hamby was joined by former White House spokesman and GQ contributor Reid Cherlin; “Victory Lab” author and Slate writer Sasha Issenberg; and Erin McPike from Real Clear Politics.
Hamby will host two more live chats from the DNC on Wednesday and Thursday at 2:30pm ET from the CNN Grill. Users can watch on CNNPolitics.com and CNN.com/live and tweet questions to @PeterHambyCNN.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux talks with Congressman Barney Frank about the parties official decision to back gay marriage.
The CNN Grill opened its doors in Charlotte last night and celebrities, newsmakers, press and politicians alike were rubbing elbows while enjoying delicious food reflective of the NC town.
High resolution, downloadable CNN images available on the following links:
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper were spotted at the #CNNGrill along with actors Jeff Bridges and Rosario Dawson, TV host Ty Pennington, gossip columnist Cindy Adams, journalists Charlie Rose, Andrea Mitchell and Dave Barry and comedian Jason Jones.
Other notables and politicians include Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Martin O'Malley, Gen. Wesley Clark and more.
Wednesday, September 5
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
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