Sanders Says He 'Doesn't Appear' to Be Nominee, Cites Campaign Lessons Vermont Senator talks influencing Democratic Party, Clinton and what's next.

 -- Bernie Sanders inched closer Wednesday morning to admitting defeat in the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

“It doesn’t appear that I am going to be the nominee,” he said during an interview with C-SPAN, when asked about whether he will speak at the party’s convention in July. “So I am not going to be determining the scope of the convention.”

Sanders has been slowly changing his tone away from winning the nomination to pushing his policy ideas on the party's platform, since voting has officially come to a close in the last few weeks. He did, however, sound encouraged by his campaign’s ongoing negotiations with the Clinton campaign regarding the party’s platform and potential changes to party rules, which he said were taking place almost daily.

He said he believed Democrats would adopt “by far the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party” in July, "in terms of economic, in terms of climate change, in terms of criminal justice, in terms of immigration reform, in terms of higher education."

Sanders would not say whether he would endorse Hillary Clinton before the convention but stressed again that the two campaigns were in negotiations and that negotiations “go two ways.” He added, almost reluctantly, swallowing and mumbling his words, that despite the differences of opinion with Clinton, he believed the two of them could work together on some key issues.

“Our job now is to have her listen to what millions of people in this country who supported me want to see happen and we will see how that evolves,” he said.

He then went out of his way to underscore how smart he thinks the former secretary of state is, especially compared with Donald Trump, and came as close as he to date in talking about the historic nature of her candidacy as the first woman to become the presumptive nominee of a major party.

“I think it is very hard to deny that her command of public policy, the history of public policy, the analysis — is in a different world of where Donald Trump is,” he said. “She is clearly a very intelligent person and she has clearly had to fight her way through a lot of sexism and unfair attacks over the years,” despite what Sanders said, "are areas where we have strong disagreements."

Sanders took time and seemed to enjoy reflecting on his campaign during the wide-ranging hourlong interview, the first since he spoke directly to supporters last week with a live-stream about carrying on his political “revolution.” He leaned forward and turned very sentimental when interviewer Steve Scully played his “America” ad from the campaign, featuring the Simon and Garfunkel song.

"It gives me tingles. It sometimes almost brings tears to my eyes,” he said after watching the clip.

“What that ad is about is the potential of America," he said. "There are beautiful people all over this country.”

He talked about traveling around the country, visiting 46 states and speaking directly to more than 1.5 million people at his hallmark mega-rallies. He thanked his staff and volunteers for building an “extraordinary” campaign and defying the odds and expectations set by pundits and many from within the Democratic Party.

After his travels across the country and listening to his staff, Sanders said the year was a great “learning experience.” He especially recalled how much he gained talking to immigrant families in Arizona, others in Flint, Michigan, struggling with the water crisis and still more in inner city neighborhoods working to reform police practices.

Looking ahead, the Vermont senator spoke about the possibilities that await him back on Capitol Hill. He would like, perhaps, to chair the high-profile Health Education Labor and Pension committee in the Senate and said that the Clinton campaign has not sought his advice regarding her vice presidential pick. While he did not name anyone, he seemed to point to his Senate colleague Elizabeth Warren as his choice.

“I think she should select clearly the most progressive candidate that she can find," he continued. "It would be a terrible mistake for her to go to a candidate who has roots from Wall Street or has been backed by Wall Street."