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Sen. Booker: 'We Will Rise'

PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., brought the crowd to its feet as he called for the Democratic Party to unite around Hillary Clinton, saying she would be a champion for the poor as president.

Booker said Clinton would measure America's greatness not by the number of millionaires and billionaires, but by how few people are living in poverty.

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"I believe this election is a referendum on who best embodies the leadership we need to go far together. Donald Trump is not that leader," Booker said at the Democratic National Convention.

Booker slammed Trump for his insults against women.

"We've watched Donald Trump, our children, our daughters, our nieces, and grandkids have watched him calling women women degrading names: 'dog,' 'fat pig,' 'disgusting,' animal,'" Booker exclaimed. "It is a twisted hypocrisy when he treats other women in a manner he would never, ever accept from another man speaking about his daughters or his wife."

He said the country doesn't always have to agree, but the U.S. can't became a place "where our highest aspiration is that we just tolerate each other."

"America at our best, we stand up to bullies and we fight those who seek to demean and degrade other Americans," Booker said. "Even in times of crisis, we don't abandon our values, we double-down on them."

Booker championed debt-free college, which he said represents the best of the Democratic party.

"She knows that debt-free college is not a gift, it's not charity, it's an investment. It represents the best of our values, the best of our history, the best of our party: Bernie's ideas, Hillary's ideas, our shared ideas. Our shared values," Booker said.

Booker called on Americans not to "fall into complacency or indifference" about the election.

"My fellow Americans, we cannot be seduced into cynicism about our politics, because cynicism is a refuge for cowards and this nation is and must always be the home of the brave. We are the United States of America. We will not falter or fail. We will not retreat or surrender - we will not surrender our values, we will not surrender our ideals, we will not surrender the moral high ground," he said.

Booker continued, "Here in Philadelphia, let us declare again that we will be a free people. Free from fear and intimidation. Let us declare that we are a nation of interdependence, and that in America love always trumps hate. Let us declare, so that generations yet unborn can hear us. We are the United States of America; our best days are ahead of us. And together, with Hillary Clinton as our President, America, we will rise."

Trump took a shot against Booker on Twitter following his speech.

"If Cory Booker is the future of the Democratic Party, they have no future! I know more about Cory than he knows about himself," the Republican presidential nominee tweeted.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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