August 13 - The Democratic Party has finalized its platform. They held 1600 town hall meetings around the country in an attempt to include the public in the process. Joining us talk about the platform is Michael Yaki is National Platform Director for the Obama Campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

He talks about changes from the Democrats' platform 4 years ago.

"Obviously one major change is with regard to Iran, the situation with Iran, and their nuclear issue with regard to the centrifuges and enrichment, has prompted tougher language on Iran. Its still diplomacy first, but it clearly leaves all options on the table."

"I'd say another major change is the emphasis on energy. Now there's this whole urgency to clean and renewable energy that is a major emphasis of this particular platform in terms of investment, in terms of what the American people want, which is a Manhattan or Apollo style project to wean this country off of fossil fuels."

"What we said all along is that Healthcare is an issue that everyone agrees on, what the goal is. And the goal is universal coverage, accessible and affordable. What the progressives wanted was the word guarantee, and we actually saw no contradiction between what we've been saying on universality and the guarantee, so instead we put in the phrase 'guaranteed access to affordable Heathcare coverage for every man woman and child', that seemed to make them very happy.."

Interview: Tim Carpenter, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America

Progressive groups champion the inclusion of language in the Democratic platform that guarantees health care for all. But Tim Carpenter, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America, told Pacifica's Nathan Moore that being heard wasn't easy.