Obama campaign hasn't seen Clinton speech, but has 'absolute confidence' in former president

President Obama's campaign said Tuesday that it is not concerned about President Clinton's prime-time remarks, scheduled for the second day of the Democratic National Convention — despite not yet having reviewed the speech.

Obama traveling press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One for the president's trip to Norfolk, Va., that the campaign has "been in close contact" with the former president, and was "sure" that "when he’s done, we’ll see them."

"We have absolute confidence about what he’s going to say," Psaki continued. "And we think, who better to deliver a message to the American people about the choice middle-class families in this country are facing, the difference between what the vision President Obama is presenting to the American people and the vision Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are presenting?"

The Obama-Clinton partnership has come under new scrutiny in recent weeks, as reports have examined the presidents' relationship ahead of this week's convention. In a New Yorker article published last week, writer Ryan Lizza relates a story of Clinton having told now-deceased Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) of Obama during the 2008 campaign, "A few years ago, this guy would have been carrying our bags."

But while adviser David Axelrod told Lizza the pair's relationship had been growing, there have been instances of Clinton going off message. During a interview in May with CNN, Clinton described Mitt Romney's business record as "sterling" — undercutting Obama attacks on his record at Bain Capital. The Romney campaign launched a new website just last week playing off the remark.

Still, Psaki insisted Tuesday that they had confidence Clinton would strike the right tone.

"He is somebody who can speak directly from experience, not only from his time as president in the ‘90s, but also as somebody who’s been deeply involved in the last decades, post-presidency, about what we need to do to move the country forward, what the right choices are for the American people," Psaki said. "And we expect he’ll speak to all of that tomorrow evening."

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