Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton Campaign in New York for Democratic Presidential Nomination
SAVIDGE: At this hour Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is at a campaign event in New York. You are looking at live pictures of that right now. Hillary Clinton will be headlining her own event soon. It is just days now before the New York primary. The candidates are locked in a war of words, even Bill Clinton joining the fray, now suggesting that Sanders has different standards for Clinton because she is a woman. Take a listen to what Sanders told our Jake Tapper about that.</s>BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I appreciate Bill Clinton being my psychoanalyst. It's always nice. But the reality is ever since Wisconsin when that became the six out of seven states that we have won in caucuses or primaries, I think the Clinton campaign made it public and they have told the media that here in New York they are about to become very negative, about to beat us up. And I just want them to understand that we have tried to run an issue-oriented campaign but that we are not going to be attacked every single day. Our record is not going to be distorted. We are going to fight back.</s>SAVIDGE: Let's bring in Philip Levine who is mayor of Miami Beach, Florida and a Hillary Clinton supporter, and then we have got Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America and a Bernie Sanders supporter. Charles, I'll start with you. What does Sanders really believe about Clinton? Surely he is not believing that she is not qualified.</s>CHARLES CHAMBERLAIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA: I think the question of qualifications, obviously when you look at the experience that Secretary Clinton has that stands up. But the question here is about judgment. And what Sanders is saying is when we look at the issues and we look at the question of voting for or supporting terrible trade deals like NAFTA or the Panama Papers or when it comes to how you are funding your campaign with $15 million worth of Wall Street money, or when we are looking at whether or not you voted the right way on the most disastrous foreign policy decision in modern times, the Iraq War, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama were both on the right side when it came to whether or not we should go fight in Iraq, and Hillary Clinton was on the wrong side.</s>SAVIDGE: I think the question I asked was whether he felt that Mrs. Clinton was somehow qualified to be president. We weren't going to the record of Bernie. So what does Bernie believe as far as her qualifications?</s>CHAMBERLAIN: It comes to questions of judgment. I think what he is saying is that voters need to ask, does her judgment qualify her for president? This is a primary campaign. And when you are in a primary, you are drawing contrasts.</s>SAVIDGE: Let me ask you this. Bill Clinton has joined this battle and he has basically come out and said apparently Bernie Sanders is, he is implying he is sexist here. How do you make that judgment jump?</s>MAYOR PHILIP LEVINE, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: First of all, thank you, Martin. And I have got to say this. I'm not here to defend Bernie Sanders, but we know he is too bright of a man to qualify and say that Secretary Clinton is not qualified for the position. We know that. And I think when these campaigns get very heated things happen. I understand that.</s>SAVIDGE: So does that apply to Bill Clinton, then, with what he came forward and said in the heat of the campaign?</s>LEVINE: When President Clinton speaks he is defending his wife. He is one of the most popular two-term presidents in the United States of America who has helped to elect a lot of Democrats, including our President Obama on the second term with that incredible speech he gave at the convention. But I think more importantly I think what we have going on here in New York is we have two home teams. We have the Mets against the Yankees, we have the Giants against New York. Don't get fooled by Senator Sanders strong New England accent. He is a New Yorker. He must win New York to survive this primary. So I think it's getting very, very heated, and of course we all know Secretary Clinton is very qualified for the position. We'd hire her as CEO of the United States of America any day of the week.</s>SAVIDGE: Phil, do you think we are just talking because they are so ramped up and the fight for New York is so important?</s>LEVINE: I think absolutely, no question about it, Martin. And of course we all love the media, but the media has to sell advertising. And these are great advertising points to talk about.</s>SAVIDGE: Charles, do you think this is really just coming out of the heat of passion?</s>CHAMBERLAIN: This is a classic campaign. We are at a primary race where we're trying to draw contrasts between the different candidates. Go back to 2008 and right now eight years ago you had Hillary Clinton campaigning on Jeremiah Wright, on William Ayers --</s>SAVIDGE: But it seems that we have taken a turn there, that we are no longer talking about the issues. Now we are talking about the person. And is that what it has come down, to try to delineate one as a sexist or one as unqualified? Is that how the voter is supposed to make a decision?</s>CHAMBERLAIN: I would again say that this isn't about issue of qualification based on experience. That is a question of judgment, and that is the issues, which is exactly what Bernie has been running on all along. So there is nothing new in this campaign to be saying qualified, unqualified, judgment, lack of judgment. The question is who is going to be better for America? Who is going to rebuild the middle class? And the case Bernie Sanders is making is that I'm the one that's going to make the right decisions because I'm not funded by Wall Street. I know to be against bad trade deals. I voted the right way when it came to the war in Iraq. And that's the point he's trying to make.</s>SAVIDGE: Mayor Levine, how would you summarize it?</s>LEVINE: Martin, I think when you start talking about judgment we can talk about Senator Sanders' vote to give all these gun manufacturers immunity. When you ask the mothers of all those African-American youths that were killed by weapons, when they ask about Senator Sanders judgment to allow immunity to these gun manufacturers, that is a question of judgment and that is something that the people of New York will decide.</s>SAVIDGE: And you are right on that. Mayor Levine and Charles Chamberlain, thank you both for joining us this morning.</s>LEVINE: Thanks for having us on.</s>SAVIDGE: A programming note. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both appear on state of the union with Jake Tapper tomorrow morning at 9:090 eastern right here on CNN. And then this Thursday night Clinton and Sanders face off in a CNN Democratic debate live from Brooklyn, New York. Wolf Blitzer will moderate that, and that is Thursday night at 9:00 eastern right here on</s>CNN. PAUL: And right after the break we are taking you to the Augusta National. History possibly being made, first time a player could win Masters back-to-back since Tiger Woods 14 years ago. Stay close.