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We got to make sure that the Democratic Party is not just Democratic, but seen to be Democratic. That means we got to have systems in place that makes sure that everybody who participates in a primary is perceived to have an equal shot with everybody else.

Primaries are the place where you see whose message is connecting with the largest number of people.

A national primary election would electrify the people and give them a larger stake in the outcome.

Well, the tough thing for them is that the Republican primary is pretty far over to the right, just as the Democratic primary is further over to the left than the average voter in each party.

In creating superdelegates, the Democratic Party recognized the expertise that its top holders of public office have gained by running for office themselves. They are experts at winning. They know the issues. They are in a unique position to evaluate presidential candidates.

I thought that that was an effort to inject a popular element, a democratic element into the selection of a person who, once he is selected and confirmed, is beyond electoral control.

The Democratic Party is a house of many mansions. It is a body which is extremely important in representing all kinds of people in all parts of the country who have very broad and very different views.

There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy.

Congressional dysfunction is the logical result of closed primaries, too many gerrymandered one-party seats, and low-turnout elections.