You're watching...
Former Rep. Artur Davis on Obama’s first term in office and the 2012 Presidential race.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
Our next guest was a national co chairman of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign he delivered one of the speeches in fact nominating him.
-- president.
I am honored to second the nomination of the man whose victory tonight.
Takes us closer to becoming.
What we know America can be ladies and gentlemen.
A place -- who you are now.
A place where where you come from.
A place.
Where all of the things that may hold you back.
Pose no permanent barriers.
Former democratic congressman from the state of Alabama has since changed his party affiliation.
And offered a rousing defense of governor Romney at the Republican Convention last week joining us now is doctor Davis.
Under great to have you with this I I don't -- and -- -- I read jury -- Article on the president's speech -- wanna start by congratulating you on what I think is the most insightful -- Well if -- -- critique of the president last night.
And like you I thought it was a stirring stem winder brilliantly about.
Well there was a stirring speech but two things about Bill Clinton speech last night.
All 49 minutes of it and you never heard the formulation of the phrase -- -- Obama has succeed it.
Now let's think about that she got a president running for reelection.
When's the last time a president's run for reelection.
And his biggest booster can't bring himself to say.
And he hit forty -- 49 minutes to say at.
That my guys succeed it.
Point number 21 of the major points the President Clinton may last night is something we hear from a democratic.
France all the time.
That old did Mitch McConnell promise to block his reelection something every one -- audience of appreciate when Mitch McConnell made that pledge.
He had forty votes in the US senate not even enough to sustain a filibuster.
Even when he got a 41 vote.
He wasn't able to block -- single Obama initiative.
For two years President Obama got everything he -- on the economic front.
From the congress and that same Mitch McConnell actually cut a deal with them.
That avoid at the expiration of the bush tax cuts at the end of 2010.
Which would have almost certainly push the economy back into recession.
Have those tax cuts all expire.
So this notion that Republican obstruction.
Has a never work with the president is false and the notion that it's prevented him from getting anything done.
This just factually false but of course President Clinton made in a very powerful -- last -- happens not to be true.
It and a number of the facts that.
So call that the former president views.
Or were let's -- this rules this right.
-- highly challenger -- and we will do so here this evening on this broadcast.
But you point out that this -- been the most relentlessly ideological.
Administration the Obama administration.
What what do you mean specifically.
I'll be 45 years old and a few weeks.
This in my 45 years is the most ideological presidency that I have seen.
Ronald Reagan was a conservative but he regularly found a way to appeal to Democrats and to win democratic support in congress.
Bill Clinton was a progressive Democrat in many ways.
But he found ways to regulate appeal to Republicans.
Both President Bush's regularly found a way is strictly at the beginning of their terms to reach out to the other side.
That's been the political -- -- Well you'd almost think that the separation of powers was something that have been invented four years ago to -- Barack Obama.
The reality is Bob Woodward points out of his book that's coming out a few weights.
Presidents have always faced difficult challenges of hyper partisanship.
The successful ones have found a way to overcome it.
And it's fair to judge a president who promised he turned the page.
And move us past partisan gridlock when you ran on that fame it's fair to judge -- when you were not able to reverse the gridlock.
How important is president Obama's speech tonight to his reelection effort.
I'm not convinced candidly that any thing that's happened -- these two weeks is terribly important by that I mean Charlotte and Tampa.
The American people -- present Obama's a fantastic speaker.
But no the Bill Clinton's a fantastic speaker not sure this stuff with them past 11 o'clock last night.
But they know those has -- great speakers if these elections were simply about oratory we -- close -- the contest right now.
But these elections are going to be about results.
A lot of us put a lot of faith in President Obama for years ago because of his oratory.
And we've learned a lesson that sometimes words don't translate into results so I think the American people are going to just as president based results as they -- Congressman -- -- good to have you with us thanks from thank you -- a strong supporter of an advisor to govern Iraq.
