-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Former NBA star and TNT sports analyst Charles Barkley attended the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday and answered five questions for CNN.com at the CNN Grill . Former NBA star Charles Barkley says the next president must deal with poverty and the war in Iraq . CNN.com : Why are you here in Denver ? Barkley : I just wanted to be here . I 'm just so excited . I never thought in my lifetime we 'd have a black man with a legitimate shot of being president . CNN.com : Are you a Barack Obama supporter ? Barkley : Barack has been a friend of mine for a long time . I met him when I was writing my last book , and he was running for Senate , and I got to know him , and we stayed in contact . I consider him a friend . I think he 'd make a fantastic president . I want to make it clear that if I did n't think he could do the job , I would n't vote for him . I think he 'd make a fantastic president . And I 'm not voting for him because he 's black . I think he 's a great person . CNN.com : What do you think the Democrats need to do here to win the White House ? Barkley : I think they 've got to just make sure to get those troops home from Iraq , that 's a big deal . But No. 1 , we 've got to give poor people a chance . America is divided by economics , and we as Americans , we 've got to do a better job of supporting poor people . CNN.com : How ? Barkley : We 've got to improve the public school system . If you 're born in this country poor , whether you 're white or black , you 're going to be born in a bad neighborhood ; you 're going to go to a bad school . It 's going to be very difficult for poor people to be successful . iReport.com : Are you at the DNC ? Share sights , sounds CNN.com : What are you doing in Denver for fun ? Barkley : I 'm going to the Hill Harper party tonight . Last night we just went out and had a real nice meal and just took it easy because I knew today was going to be a long day . I just want to be here . Plain and simple . CNN.com : Are you running for governor in Alabama ? Barkley : I 'm planning on running for governor . I ca n't screw up Alabama . Politics , it 's just so important , and I just want to do good things with my name , and I 'm just going to keep continuing to do that .