WASHINGTON (AFP) - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have put on a convincing show of personal amity, but political calculations are not far behind as the Democrats join forces in the battle for the White House.

If former president Bill Clinton still nurses grievances from this year's bruising primary epic, and a dwindling band of his wife's supporters are threatening to vote for Republican John McCain, Hillary Clinton at least has moved on.

"I don't see any divergence of interests. She needs to do everything she can to get Senator Obama elected president, and be seen doing everything she can," said William Galston, a former adviser to Bill Clinton.

"I think it's in Senator Obama's interest to have Senator Clinton campaign regularly and enthusiastically for him. It's also in her interest to do that," he said, explaining that Clinton's own future in the party is at stake.

The two senators staged their first joint campaign rally in the aptly named New Hampshire town of Unity last week. Both spoke passionately of their desire for unity to end Republican rule for the sake of a nation ardent for change.

But as Obama prepares for more campaigning in Independence, Missouri on Monday, they still face tricky questions over what role Clinton may take in the Obama campaign and at the Democrats' August convention in Denver -- and eventually, what job she might solicit in an Obama administration.

Bill Clinton is said still to be smarting over being portrayed as a closet racist by some Obama supporters during the primary campaign, and is taking his wife's agonizing loss personally.

But one of Hillary Clinton's most avid supporters, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, said the former president was certain to join his wife's efforts to elect Obama.

"President Clinton's going to do every single thing that Barack Obama asks him to do," said Rendell, who campaigned tirelessly for the New York governor during her failed bid for the Democratic nomination.

"He's disappointed, just like I am, but he knows the stakes are so high for this country. He's going to get out there in typical Bill Clinton fashion and make a great case for Senator Obama as our next president."

The former president, still a star draw for many in the party, has given only tepid backing to Obama. But both he and his wife Friday each donated the maximum legal limit of 2,300 dollars to the Obama campaign, aides said.

That financial gesture of reconciliation came after Obama gave the same amount to help retire the former first lady's campaign debts of 22.5 million dollars.

His donation came at an elite gathering late Thursday of top Clinton fundraisers, where the two senators rolled out their unity show before heading to the New Hampshire town where they split the primary vote exactly in January.

Most of those in attendance appeared eager to take the fight to the Republicans on Obama's behalf, although one guest told ABC the event at Washington's historic Mayflower Hotel felt like a "dentist's appointment."

Obama has been reaching out by hiring Clinton campaign staffers, most of whom will be out of a job this month.

Opinion polls meanwhile suggest that disaffected Clinton voters are returning to the Democratic fold. The proportion that was threatening to vote for McCain rather than Obama was as high as one-third a month ago.

But now only 11 percent of Clinton supporters still plan to defect to McCain, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released Tuesday.

Recent polls also suggest little appetite for Clinton to run as Obama's vice presidential nominee, despite persistent demands for that "dream ticket" from some of her supporters.

Clear majorities of independent voters in four battleground states where Obama is now beating McCain -- Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin -- are against the idea, according to the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

AFP, June 29, 2008

CHICAGO - By rights, a group that helped elect Bill Clinton president and counts Sen. Hillary Rodham CLinton as one of its leaders should be hostile territory for Barack Obama. But members of the Democratic Leadership Council seem ready to embrace Obama rather than risk squandering an opportunity for victory this fall.

But many DLC members, meeting in Chicago on Sunday, argued victory will require following their centrist organization's philosophy.

They urged Obama to emphasize practical solutions to the problems directly affecting voters - gas prices, inflation, failing schools, job security. He can't let Republicans define him as a tax-and-spend liberal, they said, and he can't let the left push him toward a campaign based on retribution against the Bush administration.

"We need somebody who can pull us together," said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Md., a DLC vice chairman. "Voters want us to be united and they want us to govern from the middle."

The Democratic Leadership Council was formed in the wake of Walter Mondale's huge loss to Ronald Reagan in 1984. The goal was to change the party's image and focus by stressing such issues as welfare reform, charter schools and business opportunity.

The group helped Bill Clinton win in 1992, although critics say it ignores Democratic principles and the poor and vulnerable who need the party's help. The group's president is a former Clinton aide, and Hillary Clinton heads its "American Dream Initiative."

Some former Clinton backers admit to a little hesitation about Obama.

Peggy West, a member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, says she's still "taking inventory" after Clinton's loss to the Illinois senator in the Democratic presidential primary.

"I'm not, at this point, enthusiastic about Obama, but I am going to be out there doing doors and giving what little money I can," West said. "I'm definitely in his camp."

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who endorsed Obama after ending his own run for the Democratic nomination, urged DLC members to put aside any hurt feelings from the long primary race.

"There is still probably a need to heal a little bit," he said in a speech to the group. "It may take a little time - hopefully not too much longer. Everybody needs to find ways to recognize that we have an incredible opportunity to regain the White House."

The DLC meeting took place just across a small courtyard from the building that houses Obama's headquarters. While the campaign didn't make any overt effort to woo the group, senior Obama aides did meet with members during the conference, "many of whom are elected officials who have been involved with the campaign for a long time," said spokeswoman Amy Brundage.

Obama won the nomination without help from top DLC leaders, but that isn't stopping them from taking a little credit.

Al From, who founded the group, argued Obama's theme of putting solutions ahead of bipartisan bickering matches what the DLC has championed from the beginning. And in the early stages of the general election, Obama shows signs of continuing that theme, he said.

Obama didn't condemn a Supreme Court decision restricting gun control laws, From pointed out, and he endorsed a congressional compromise on legal protections for telecommunications companies that aided Bush administration wiretapping - two positions that disappoint some liberals.

"He's shown me that he knows how to be practical," From said.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin argued that on almost any issue, Obama can get voters to listen if he emphasizes results over ideology. He said Obama should make the case that Republicans have failed to get results on health care, government spending, the war on terror and more.

Voters know Obama is smart and inspirational, Manchin said - now they need to know that he has specific plans to make their lives better.

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press, June 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - The ping-pong table was supposed to be a gag. It was in Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate suite when she returned to the office Tuesday after a two-week rest following the suspension of her presidential campaign.

The table, where staffers were locked in a mock contest to celebrate her arrival, was dismantled soon after the New York Democrat moved through the door. The capital's supine politial media fawned over the stunt.

But it struck some New Yorkers as an out-of-body signal from their junior senator who had missed 97 out of 155 votes cast in the Senate this year in a historic, roller-coaster quest for the presidential nomination.

Clinton's heavily-packaged rites, which continued for three days, perplexed some who wonder if she were really resigned to the strong probability that she is not going to become president next Jan. 20, and may never be president.

It was reported her staffers recruited a small crowd, which Clinton worked like a campaign rope-line outside the Capitol. When she entered the Senate chamber she used the great ceremonial door that not even the vice president employs when he visits.

In the hallways, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., arranged a public greeting for her.

She had hugs for supporters like Sens. Debbie Stabenow, DMich., and Barbara Mikulski, DMd., but a cold shoulder for Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who did not back her.

It went on. She made major speeches to two advocacy groups.

Then the Clintons staged a high-profile downtown party to raise $100,000 to defray her campaign expenses. The presumptive nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his wife, gave Clinton checks for $4,600, said nice words and left.

To core supporters, the fuss looked appropriate for the first - but not the last - woman as a serious contender seeking the presidential nomination.

The rituals, though, did not necessarily enhance her ability to answer New York's great needs in the Senate, where most Democrats supported Obama, and where she ranks Number 68.

Among Democrats, she stands fifth on the Environment and Public Works Committee, eighth on Health, Education and Labor, and ninth on Armed Services.

Some wonder if Clinton and New York would have been better off had she quietly ambled into the Senate chamber two weeks ago and then privately dined with members who did not support her, and just got to work.

The awkward truth is that Schumer for the last few years has largely done the chores of both senators, as far as upstate is concerned.

It was Schumer, not Clinton, who rushed into the breach when the Bush administration proposed draconiam ID rules for crossing the Canadian Border. It was Schumer who interceded with the National Football League to bolster the Buffalo Bills' finances. Schumer and nobody else has been hectoring the airlines to keep regular, inexpensive service in upstate. Same with Medicaid funding.

Schumer has confronted power to help New York. The state needs two senators to help pull it out of the hole it is in. It needs two senators with influence.

Sen. Clinton's presidential campaign is either over, or it is not over. New York papers are reporting that Obama is becoming very nettled at continuing pressure from Clinton supporters to put her on the ticket and give her a starring role at the Denver convention, which should showcase Obama.

For the sake of whatever clout she can wield for New York at an Obama White House, Clinton should end, not suspend, the campaign, stop the ceremonies, cast off the Bill Clinton third-termers, release her delegates now and tell her friends to stop needling Obama.

There's no way to anticipate the thought processes of Democrat Obama and Republican John McCain, no formula for weighing the factors involved.

And this year, as ever, lessons learned seem to have been forgotten.

Consider that much of the speculation has centered on individuals presumed to be able to deliver their states in November - even though few running mates have delivered states before, and current polls suggest it's not likely to happen in 2008, either.

Obama and McCain could announce their picks at any time between now and the late-summer conventions. History suggests later rather than sooner; nominees tend to want to weigh their options as long as possible.

In the end, of course, few Americans will vote on the basis of the vice president. But the selection of No. 2 says a lot about the thinking of No. 1. "Vice presidential candidates are in the spotlight the week they're chosen and the week of their debate," said Michael Nelson, a political scientist at Rhodes College in Tennessee who has studied the subject. "That's a pretty good chunk of the campaign."

In addition, recent years have demonstrated how much it matters who sits in the vice president's office, beyond the right of succession.

One indicator of how the process may play out this time is how it has played out in the past. What follows are historical trends. And trends, even more than rules, are made to be broken.

Governors need not apply.

The last to make the cut was Republican Spiro Agnew, who ran with Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972. Agnew wound up resigning and going to prison. Since then, the major parties have looked in other directions.

One reason is that a lot of presidential nominees (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush) had been governors. So they tended to want Washington figures running with them.

"Outsiders pick insiders," said Joel Goldstein, an expert on the vice presidency at St. Louis University. "Insiders usually pick insiders, too."

This time, though, with two senators running for president, governors may actually have a chance.

Also-rans from the nomination fight don't win the prize.

From time to time, a presidential nominee has selected the runner-up. Democrat John F. Kennedy went with Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960, Republican Reagan with George H.W. Bush in 1980, Democrat John Kerry with John Edwards in 2004.

But no candidate has passed over the runner-up to select a straggler. This does not augur well for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, all of whom finished far behind Hillary Clinton.

Running mates aren't picked for their ability to carry their home state. Or shouldn't be.

To be sure, Johnson helped carry Texas for Kennedy in 1960, although the Texan was chosen for his appeal to the entire South. Since then, perhaps the only running mate who helped win a state that a ticket otherwise might have lost was Al Gore (Tennessee) with Bill Clinton in 1992.

According to a 1989 study, a running mate from a state improves the ticket's performance there by an average of 0.3 percentage points.

This month, pollsters from Quinnipiac University asked Floridians about having Republican Gov. Charlie Crist or Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson as vice presidential candidates; Pennsylvanians about former Gov. Tom Ridge, a Republican, and Gov. Rendell; Ohioans about former Rep. Rob Portman, a Republican, and Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

Ridge polled the best: He had no impact. All the others made voters less likely to support Obama or McCain.

That hasn't stopped the talk about politicians with presumed local appeal, including Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and two Virginia Democrats, Sen. Jim Webb and Gov. Tim Kaine.

With his choice, the presidential nominee will make a statement of some sort.

By picking Dick Cheney in 2000, George W. Bush said he was confident enough of himself - and aware of his own inexperience - to go with a strong Washington insider.

Obama, who has little foreign-policy experience, might be inclined to pick someone with strong credentials in that realm. Rendell has recommended Hillary Clinton, Biden or Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.

McCain might be drawn to someone with a business background, such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Or he might pick a woman, particularly if Obama doesn't. At 71, McCain knows that his choice will draw close scrutiny, particularly if he opts for a much younger person with limited experience. Said Goldstein: "In picking a running mate, good government is good politics. If the person doesn't pass the test of being presidential, it hurts your credibility. It's a drop-dead requirement."

The announcements probably won't happen soon.

They used to come at the conventions. More recently, they have usually been announced the week before, giving delegates time to deal with any anger or disappointment before arriving on site.

The exception was Kerry. He announced Edwards, a move he knew would be popular, 20 days before the 2004 Democratic convention.

With the Democrats meeting first this year, as the out-party always does, McCain has the opportunity to wait out Obama, then factor Obama's move into his own calculus.

In terms of the outcome in November, the choice probably won't be decisive.

With the possible exception of 1960, it's fair to say that there hasn't been an election where a vice presidential candidate was the difference between victory and defeat.

But analysts say three running mates damaged their tickets - Agnew, Dan Quayle and Democratic Rep. Geraldine Ferraro. The GOP won despite Agnew in 1968 and Quayle 20 years later; the Democrats would have lost in 1984 no matter whom Walter Mondale chose as his No. 2.

In the end, few politicians refuse to be No. 2.

In 1972, presidential nominee George McGovern, a prohibitive underdog, was turned down by several prominent Democrats before settling on Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, who then had to leave the ticket after revelations that he'd been treated for depression.

That's the exception, especially now that the vice presidency has become an office with real clout. "Unlike most other people, I'm being straight with you," Biden said on NBC's Meet the Press this month, after saying he did not want the job. "If asked, I will do it."

It is more than a little ironic that it has taken the first African-American to win a major party presidential nomination to make clear to everyone what has been the case for more than 40 years in presidential elections: Democrats have a problem with white voters.

Suddenly, the topic du jour on television and radio talk shows, at water coolers and the most exclusive cocktail parties is how well Sen. Barack Obama can do among whites, especially the demographic group pundits call the "white working class."

The truth is these voters have been around for decades. They're "The Silent Majority," "Jill and Joe Six-Pack" and "Reagan Democrats," and whatever the name, they have given Democratic presidential candidates the back of their hands since 1964. That was the year Lyndon Johnson won in one of the biggest landslides in American history, and any demographic group he did not carry probably held its meetings in a telephone booth.

Neither Jimmy Carter nor Bill Clinton, the last Democrats to occupy the Oval Office since then, won a majority of white voters. Mr. Clinton came relatively close in 1996 and might have done so in 1992 had Ross Perot not been in the race. But focusing on those near misses overlooks the larger point: Sen. Obama, the son of a white mother and black father, could lose this election badly and still outdo the very pale - Sen. George McGovern in 1972, former Vice President Walter Mondale in 1984, former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1988 and possibly Sen. John Kerry in 2004 - among white voters.

The Big Disqualifier?

For those voters, especially ones without college degrees, the fact that Sen. Obama is black may not be as much a disqualifier as his background as a Democrat from the Frost Belt with no national security or executive experience and a voting record judged by the nonpartisan National Journal as the Senate's most liberal during 2007.

Yet, the focus on Sen. Obama's relative weakness among the white working class has become the hot topic among many who say racial bias explains it. Of course it would be naive to believe that race is not a factor in America today. But that doesn't necessarily mean Mr. Obama's relative weakness among white voters is solely, or even mainly, due to the fact that he is black and that three quarters of voters this year will be white.

In 1991, when I wrote a book about how the Democrats were failing to deal with their white voter problem, I ran into a number of editors who wanted to know why anyone would care - and not too subtly wondered whether looking at the reasons for their disaffection might be too politically touchy.

Then Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, however, recognized the problem. Not only did he write a back cover blurb for the book, but also his campaign showed that he understood the discontent.

Although Mr. Clinton won enough votes to take the presidency, after his reign, Democrats continued to see the formula for victory as before; increasing minority turnout - especially African-Americans, and to a lesser degree Hispanics - while winning those white voters most likely to see things their way - single women, union members and those with low incomes who viewed government as their salvation.

Ignoring Views and Values

Such a focus ignores the views and values of the larger group of white voters.

The truth is that, more than we like to admit, polls consistently show a correlation between race and ideology in American society. White voters, as a group, are more likely to favor a limited role for government here at home and a more aggressive posture overseas. In general, polls show Democrats - and a disproportionate share of black voters - favor a smaller, less adventurous military and a larger role for government on the domestic front.

This disconnect goes a long way toward explaining the GOP White House dominance since 1980.

The question this year is whether an unpopular war, an even less popular Republican president and a slumping economy can change those dynamics in favor of Sen. Obama - or perhaps whether just the American electorate has become less white enough so that it does not matter.

But making a big deal about Sen. Obama's weakness among white voters, among those with or without a college education, and assuming it has to do just with his race ignores history. It does a disservice to both Sen. Obama and those who oppose him.

By Peter A. Brown, The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2008

The frequently sharp exchanges between Barack Obama and John McCain over whether to negotiate with Iran is but the opening volley in what will be a months-long debate about American foreign policy. Though a raft of issues divides the two camps, there is a deeper ideological division that has nothing do with diplomacy or military force.

When it comes to U.S. security, McCain is a universalist and Obama is a particularist.

The concepts of universalism and particularism were sketched out in the early days of the Cold War by George Kennan, an official in President Truman's State Department and the architect of America's containment strategy. According to the Cold War historian John Lewis Gaddis, Kennan saw the universalistic approach as one which assumed "that if all countries could be induced to subscribe to certain standards or rules of behavior" than the rivalries and human emotions that begat conflict would fade away.

To a universalist, America is only secure when, to borrow the phrase, "freedom is on the march." The key to American security is the active spread of American values and institutions around the globe. While many neoconservatives subscribe to such a view, it long predates their ascendancy in political and policy-making circles. At the time Kennan wrote, universalists were apt to put their faith in international institutions (which reflected, however opaquely, Western parliamentary procedures) rather than global military dominance.

Particularists, on the other hand, do not believe the world's political diversity represents a threat to the U.S. However deplorable, particularists believe that tyranny, autocracy, corruption and misrule will remain a fixture in international relations so long as human beings remain fallible. Those with a particularist mindset tend to govern as "realists" - more inclined toward international cooperation, even if it entails dealing with tyrants. As Gaddis wrote in Strategies of Containment, particularists could tolerate "varying degrees of enmity in the world so long as it was neither consolidated nor coordinated."

With the important caveat that campaign oratory is an imperfect guide to future performance, it's increasingly clear that McCain hews closer to the universalist camp, while Obama is more of a particularist.

Take McCain first. He has stated, repeatedly, that America's security rests in the propagation of its values. "It is the democracies of the world that will provide the pillars upon which we can and must build an enduring peace," he said in a speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. In the pages of Foreign Affairs, he noted that "the protection and promotion of the democratic ideal, at home and abroad, will be the surest source of security and peace for the century that lies before us."

Many politicians, Obama included, have spoken of the universal appeal of American values. But McCain's argument is different. He's not merely stating that they are appealing, but that they universally applicable and that it is in our interest to apply them.

In a long article on McCain's foreign policy views for the New York Times Magazine reporter Matt Bai noted that "McCain considers national values, and not strategic interests, to be the guiding force in foreign policy. America exists, in McCain's view, not simply to safeguard the prosperity and safety of those who live in it but also to spread democratic values and human rights to other parts of the planet."

McCain frequently peppers his foreign policy speeches with quotes from the Founding Fathers on the potential for the American revolution to transcend its borders, implying, if not a mandate, than at least a precedent for such a capacious view.

In his World Affairs Council speech, McCain said the U.S. had "numerous overlapping interests" with China, but cautioned that "until China moves toward political liberalization, our relationship will be based on periodically shared interests rather than the bedrock of shared values."

In other words merely cooperating is insufficient. Only until China changes its political system to mirror ours will we enjoy good relations. In his own Foreign Affairs essay, Obama wrote that America's "essential challenge" when it comes to China is to "build a relationship that broadens cooperation while strengthening our ability to compete." Unlike McCain, he does not stake the future of U.S.-China relations on the latter's political liberalization.

The contrast with Russia is equally apparent. McCain has been a harsh critic of Russia, not because it has threatened the U.S., but because it has walked away from its democratic reforms and taken to periodically bullying its neighbors. McCain has suggested booting Russia from the G8 group of industrial democracies and refers to them as a "revanchist" power - an incendiary term implying a Russian desire to reoccupy Eastern Europe.

Obama, however, is more circumspect. "Although we must not shy away from pushing for more democracy and accountability in Russia, we must work with the country in areas of common interest," he said to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Rather than threaten Russia, Obama proceeded to lay out a case for cooperation on non-proliferation issues.

But it is McCain's hallmark proposal - that the U.S. create a "league of democracies" - that best illustrates his universalist thinking. Such a league, McCain argued, "can harness the vast influence of the more than one hundred democratic nations around the world to advance our values..." Implicit in this argument is that ideological affinity begets shared interests. Where the dictator-friendly U.N. is uncooperative, McCain believes that a grouping of democracies would be more effective. Such a league, he said, would pressure regimes "with or without Moscow's and Beijing's approval" and could "impose sanctions on Iran and thwart its nuclear ambitions."

Obama's particularist predilections are harder to discern, but still evident. He speaks frequently of the appeal of American values and the imperative to promote democracy. Yet Obama will more often link American security with the relative income levels and personal dignity of those beyond our borders, and not to the political system under which they live. He has put a higher price on stability and cooperation with great powers than on ideological conversion.

Beneath Obama's stated preference for diplomacy when dealing with North Korea or Iran lies a clear subtext: barring acts of overt aggression, America can co-exist in a world with these loathsome, nuclear-armed regimes. His objection to the Iraq war carried a similar implication. Containing Iraq was preferable to conquering it.

Although these are theoretical maxims, the real world consequences are clear enough. Because universalism rejects the legitimacy of non-democratic systems and has global ambitions, it is inherently destabilizing. Non-democratic states have little incentive to cooperate with the U.S. if they believe we are intent on subverting their governments. Similarly, because universalism does not recognize the legitimacy of autocratic governments, it too easily dismisses their security interests as the product of political false consciousness.

Particularlism too is not without its dangers. Because it values stability, it can remain dangerously passive toward emerging threats. Since it accepts the presence of non-democratic governments, it will miss, or deliberately overlook, opportunities to promote a more liberal world order. It can be captive to the status quo.

Despite its present distribution along partisan lines, universalism and particularism are not partisan categories. While each campaign has a clear preference, they're not dogmatic. McCain, for instance, has suggested that he is a "realistic idealist" and counts as advisors men like James Baker and Brent Scowcroft, who are staunch particularists. Obama's camp can lapse into universalism when they suggest that America has a national security mandate to promote dignity among the world's benighted.

But if they occasionally veer from the path, the road each man wishes to take America down is clear. The only question that remains is: where do we want to go?

WASHINGTON - As they look to the fall election, Democrats face a strategic decision that has bedeviled their party for 40 years: How hard should they fight in the South?

Officials in Mr. Obama's campaign say they are bullish on the South, and they have signaled their aggressiveness with early campaign appearances in North Carolina and Virginia, major voter registration drives in the region, and television advertising in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Steve Hildebrand, the deputy campaign manager for Mr. Obama, said he saw "tremendous potential" in several Southern states.

"If you go in and look at the number of unregistered voters in demographic groups that are important to Barack's candidacy - younger voters, African-American voters - the potential is just incredible," Mr. Hildebrand said.

And yet since the South began to shift away from the Democrats in the 1960s, it has become one of the biggest and reddest of the Republican strongholds. In the last two presidential elections, the Democrats failed to carry any of the Southern states. Although recent Democratic nominees have typically gotten about 9 out of 10 of the votes of Southern blacks, they still need a substantial chunk of the white vote to prevail. Political scientists put that figure at close to 40 percent, though it depends on the state, and the Democrats have rarely gotten it.

Even after selecting a Southerner, John Edwards of North Carolina, as his running mate in 2004, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts drew 29 percent of the white vote in the region (17 percent in the Deep South). In 2000, Al Gore got 31 percent, even losing his home state, Tennessee.

The only times since 1972 that the Democrats have carried more than a third of the Southern white vote, according to exit polls, were when Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton, both Southerners, were atop the ticket. In 1996, for example, Mr. Clinton got the votes of 36 percent of Southern whites and 87 percent of Southern blacks, and carried 5 of the 13 Southern states.

Mr. Obama's Southern strategy relies on significantly increasing black registration and turnout, as he did in the primary season. Mr. Hildebrand said that by some estimates there are 600,000 unregistered black voters in Georgia alone. The higher the black share of the vote, the lower the requirement for garnering white votes. But the Obama camp argues that it can increase its share of the white vote as well by focusing on younger, more progressive whites.

Democratic candidates have typically written off many Southern states early in the process. But when Democrats give up the South, they need to win 70 percent of the rest of the electoral votes, said Merle Black, an expert on Southern politics at Emory University. And they often subject candidates running for lower offices in the region to fierce political headwinds: it is hard for a statewide candidate to prevail when his party's presidential nominee loses by double digits.

"We've not only lost in Mississippi, we've lost by 20 points in Mississippi," said Ray Mabus, the former governor of Mississippi and a senior adviser to Mr. Obama.

Mr. Mabus added: "It's not only Democrats who've been writing off Mississippi. It's Republicans, too, because they felt safe."

The Obama campaign's interest in the South, Mr. Mabus said, is already heightening the competition there. He noted that Senator John McCain had been to Mississippi since clinching the Republican nomination. "I don't think he would have come if he thought it was a mortal lock," Mr. Mabus said.

Southern Democrats have often felt left out of their party's presidential calculations. From Reconstruction to the 1960s, the South was essentially a one-party region: Democratic. But voters' allegiance was rocked in the 1960s by the Democrats' leadership in passing civil rights legislation, and whites began to move to what Republicans asserted was their more natural ideological home.

This was exacerbated, many Southern Democrats believe, by the national party's habit of nominating Northern liberals who campaigned little in the region. But the Democrats who ran those campaigns said they had to devote their resources to the states where polls showed they had the best chance of prevailing.

"We started out with a pretty broad playing field, with the intention of putting more states in play than had been put into play before," said Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster who worked for Mr. Kerry in 2004, noting that the Kerry campaign competed early on in Virginia.

"At a certain point, we needed to make a decision on whether to continue to compete in states that weren't likely to pay off and drain money from states that could," Mr. Mellman said.

But this time, the resources argument would be less compelling because Mr. Obama is expected to have a sizable financial edge over his rival, given his decision to forgo public campaign money and the spending limits that accompany it. And, some Democrats who work in the South argue, writing off a region is simply the wrong thing to do.

"How do you tell 102 million people who live in the South that they don't matter?" said Steve Jarding, a Democratic consultant who has worked on several Southern campaigns. This year, he added, the region should be open to a Democratic argument on economics.

But some contend that the building blocks of a Democratic electoral majority lie elsewhere, notably the Southwest. That argument was laid out in 2006 in "Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South," by Thomas F. Schaller, a political scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

"The notion that the Democrats have to win in the South is just a fiction," Dr. Schaller said.

Some Democrats say the Obama registration drive could have unintended consequences, spurring a higher turnout among whites planning to vote Republican. But Charles Bullock, a political scientist at the University of Georgia, said he considered that unlikely.

"Older whites who are most likely to have traditional racial attitudes are probably already registered and may have records of consistent participation," Dr. Bullock said.

As Mr. Mabus put it, "I'm sure some won't vote for him because he's African-American, but I'm pretty sure those people wouldn't vote for any Democrat."

Mr. Obama's race aside, his ideology is a significant hurdle in the South, if history is any guide. Mr. Clinton broke the Republicans' hold in 1992 in part by running as a decidedly centrist Democrat - pro-death penalty, pro-welfare reform, for the "forgotten middle class." He was also helped by Ross Perot's third-party candidacy, which drained votes from the Republicans.

In the Republican camp, strategists say that for all the difficulties the party is facing, the South remains deeply conservative.

"It would take an awful big shift in the electorate this year," said Mike DuHaime, a senior adviser to the McCain campaign. "It's not like we're talking about states that were won by one or two points last time. These Southern states, with the exception of Virginia and Florida, were double-digit wins."

Mr. DuHaime acknowledged that Virginia, whose northern suburbs have become more Democratic in recent years, would be competitive this year. But he maintained that Mr. McCain, more than many Republicans, should have substantial appeal to moderate and independent voters.

Gordon Giffin, a Democratic activist in the South and an ambassador to Canada in the Clinton administration, said the economy and the Iraq war had created "more available white voters in the South this time than we've had in recent memory." Southern Democrats always argue for more attention from the national party, and Mr. Giffin acknowledged, "Sometimes we know we're full of hot air."

He added, "This time it's different."

In February, 2007, when Barack Obama declared that he was running for President, violence in Iraq had reached apocalyptic levels, and he based his candidacy, in part, on a bold promise to begin a rapid withdrawal of American forces upon taking office. At the time, this pledge represented conventional thinking among Democrats and was guaranteed to play well with primary voters. But in the year and a half since then two improbable, though not unforeseeable, events have occurred: Obama has won the Democratic nomination, and Iraq, despite myriad crises, has begun to stabilize. With the general election four months away, Obama's rhetoric on the topic now seems outdated and out of touch, and the nominee-apparent may have a political problem concerning the very issue that did so much to bring him this far.

Obama's plan, which was formally laid out last September, called for the remaining combat brigades to be pulled out at a brisk pace of about one per month, along with a strategic shift of resources and attention away from Iraq and toward Afghanistan. At that rate, all combat troops would be withdrawn in sixteen months. In hindsight, it was a mistake - an understandable one, given the nature of the media and of Presidential politics today - for Obama to offer such a specific timetable. In matters of foreign policy, flexibility is a President's primary defense against surprise. At the start of 2007, no one in Baghdad would have predicted that blood-soaked neighborhoods would begin returning to life within a year. The improved conditions can be attributed, in increasing order of importance, to President Bush's surge, the change in military strategy under General David Petraeus, the turning of Sunni tribes against Al Qaeda, the Sadr militia's unilateral ceasefire, and the great historical luck that brought them all together at the same moment. With the level of violence down, the Iraqi government and Army have begun to show signs of functioning in less sectarian ways. These developments may be temporary or cyclical; predicting the future in Iraq has been a losing game. Indeed, it was President Bush's folly to ignore for years the shifting realities on the ground.

Obama, whatever the idealistic yearnings of his admirers, has turned out to be a cold-eyed, shrewd politician. The same pragmatism that prompted him last month to forgo public financing of his campaign will surely lead him, if he becomes President, to recalibrate his stance on Iraq. He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded Al Qaeda in Iraq, reenergize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia's recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse. The question is whether Obama will publicly change course before November. So far, he has offered nothing more concrete than this: "We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in."

Obama's advisers have been more forthcoming. Samantha Power, before she resigned from the campaign for making an indiscreet remark about Hillary Clinton, told the BBC, "He will, of course, not rely upon some plan that he's crafted as a Presidential candidate or a U.S. senator. He will rely upon a plan - an operational plan - that he pulls together in consultation with people who are on the ground." Last month, the Center for a New American Security, which has become something like Obama's foreign-policy think tank, released a report that argued against a timetable for withdrawal, regardless of the state of the war, and in favor of "conditional engagement," declaring, "Under this strategy, the United States would not withdraw its forces based on a firm unilateral schedule. Rather, the time horizon for redeployment would be negotiated with the Iraqi government and nested within a more assertive approach to regional diplomacy. The United States would make it clear that Iraq and America share a common interest in achieving sustainable stability in Iraq, and that the United States is willing to help support the Iraqi government and build its security and governance capacity over the long term, but only so long as Iraqis continue to make meaningful political progress." It's impossible to know if this persuasive document mirrors Obama's current thinking, but here's a clue: it was co-written by one of his Iraq advisers, Colin Kahl.

The politics of the issue is tricky, because acknowledging changed ideas in response to changed facts is considered a failing by the political class. Accordingly, Obama, on the night that he proclaimed himself the nominee, in St. Paul, made a familiar declaration: "Start leaving we must. It's time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future." His supporters claim that the polls are with Obama, that war fatigue will make Iraq a political winner for him in November. Yet, as exhausted as the public is with the war, a candidate who seems heedless of progress in Iraq will be vulnerable to the charge of defeatism, which John McCain's campaign will connect to its broader theme of Obama's inexperience in and weakness on national security. The relative success of the surge is one of the few issues going McCain's way; we'll be hearing about it more and more between now and November, and it might sway some centrist voters who have doubts about Obama.

Obama has shown, with his speech on race, that he has a talent for candor. One can imagine him speaking more honestly on Iraq. If pressed on his timetable for withdrawal, he could say, "That was always a goal, not a blueprint. When circumstances change, I don't close my eyes - I adapt." He could detail in his speeches the functions that American troops and diplomats can continue to perform even as our primary combat role recedes: training and advising, counterterrorism, brokering deals among Iraqi factions, checking their expansionist impulses, opening talks with our enemies in the region. He could promise to negotiate all this with Iraqi leaders, emphasizing the difference between a relationship that respects the wishes of the public in both countries and one in which Iraqis are coerced into cooperation. If Obama truly wants to be seen as a figure of change, he needs to talk less about the past and more about the future: not the war that should never have been fought but the war that he, alone of the two candidates, can find an honorable way to end.

Though as The Times's Robin Toner writes today, the southern United States has "become one of the biggest and reddest of the Republican strongholds," Senator Barack Obama's campaign is hoping to change that this November. The campaign is putting resources into several southern states, running ads and signing up voters:

Steve Hildebrand, the deputy campaign manager for Mr. Obama, said he saw "tremendous potential" in several Southern states.

"If you go in and look at the number of unregistered voters in demographic groups that are important to Barack's candidacy - younger voters, African-American voters - the potential is just incredible," Mr. Hildebrand said.

Registering black voters will be important to any kind of "Southern Strategy" for the Democrats and the Wall Street Journal's Christopher Cooper and Susan Davis looks at the Obama campaign's efforts to sign them up.

Both Mr. Obama and his Republican challenger Senator John McCain sought to appeal to Hispanic voters over the weekend. But Time Magazine's Michael Scherer reports that many in the Hispanic community detect a "mixed message" when it comes to Mr. McCain's stance on immigration issues:

For months, that confusion has been somewhat intentional on the part of the McCain campaign. It was the issue of immigration, after all, that almost sunk McCain's candidacy back in the summer of 2007, when the Senate debated and defeated a comprehensive immigration bill that was dubbed the McCain-Kennedy bill and derided as an "amnesty bill" by opponents. After the defeat, McCain's public rhetoric on the issue changed significantly, even as his actual position only altered slightly. "I got the message," he told Republican crowds hundreds of times in the early voting states. "We will secure the borders first."

But in public comments, McCain often delivered a somewhat mixed message of his own. He continued to favor all the parts of his comprehensive plan - border security, increased employer sanctions for illegal hiring and a path to citizenship for the undocumented - but he mostly refrained from using the word "comprehensive." Instead, he spoke of a two-stage solution. First, he would secure the borders, a process that would be certified by border state governors. Then he would push for a process to allow the 12 million undocumented immigrants to become full citizens.

The fine line Mr. McCain is walking on the immigration issue may be an indication of the importance he places on keeping both Hispanics, a fast-growing demographic, and his party's base happy.

Over the weekend Mr. McCain also looked to court evangelical Christian voters with a visit to the North Carolina home of the Rev. Franklin Graham and his father, Billy. The Times's Robert D. McFadden writes: "Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, had requested the meeting with the Grahams. He called his hosts "great leaders" and said they had had "an excellent conversation." In response to a reporter's question, he said, as if slightly surprised: "Oh, I didn't ask for their vote."

Both candidates appear to be trying to burnish their foreign policy credentials. Mr. Obama has announced plans to take an overseas trip to Iraq and Afghantian and Europe this summer. Senator McCain heads to Latin America later this week. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler previews: "In Colombia on Tuesday and Wednesday, in the coastal city of Cartagena, he plans to highlight a pending free-trade agreement that he supports and rival Sen. Barack Obama opposes. Thursday in Mexico, the Republican candidate will talk about the war on drugs. The Arizona senator will meet with both nations' presidents."

And The Washington Post's Michael D. Shear takes a closer look at what could become a familiar refrain from Republicans on the campaign trail. He reports that they are trying to cast Mr. Obama "as an opportunistic and self-obsessed politician who will do and say anything to get elected."

Veepstakes: The Los Angeles Times's Doyle McManus examines the long, long lists of potential running mates for both candidates, but notes: "The real question is who's on the "short lists." And that remains, for the moment, Washington's deepest mystery." Mr. McManus runs through some of the boldfaced names of vice presidential contenders.

Spouse Watch: USA Today's Jill Lawrence interviews Michelle Obama who is "filling in her schedule with events that underscore her roles as girlfriend and working mom." Ms. Lawrence observes: "The result, by accident or design, is that Obama's softer side is on display when she needs it to be: after a winter of edgy remarks that made her a lightning rod and gave ammunition to Republican John McCain and his allies."

It's feeling a lot like 1992 right now. It's also feeling a lot like 1980. But which parallel is closer? Is Barack Obama going to be a Ronald Reagan of the left, a president who fundamentally changes the country's direction? Or will he be just another Bill Clinton?

So the odds are that this will be a "change" election - which means that it's very much Mr. Obama's election to lose. But if he wins, how much change will he actually deliver?

Reagan, for better or worse - I'd say for worse, but that's another discussion - brought a lot of change. He ran as an unabashed conservative, with a clear ideological agenda. And he had enormous success in getting that agenda implemented. He had his failures, most notably on Social Security, which he tried to dismantle but ended up strengthening. But America at the end of the Reagan years was not the same country it was when he took office.

Bill Clinton also ran as a candidate of change, but it was much less clear what kind of change he was offering. He portrayed himself as someone who transcended the traditional liberal-conservative divide, proposing "a government that offers more empowerment and less entitlement." The economic plan he announced during the campaign was something of a hodgepodge: higher taxes on the rich, lower taxes for the middle class, public investment in things like high-speed rail, health care reform without specifics.

We all know what happened next. The Clinton administration achieved a number of significant successes, from the revitalization of veterans' health care and federal emergency management to the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and health insurance for children. But the big picture is summed up by the title of a new book by the historian Sean Wilentz: "The Age of Reagan: A history, 1974-2008."

So whom does Mr. Obama resemble more? At this point, he's definitely looking Clintonesque.

Like Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama portrays himself as transcending traditional divides. Near the end of last week's "unity" event with Hillary Clinton, he declared that "the choice in this election is not between left or right, it's not between liberal or conservative, it's between the past and the future." Oh-kay.

Mr. Obama's economic plan also looks remarkably like the Clinton 1992 plan: a mixture of higher taxes on the rich, tax breaks for the middle class and public investment (this time with a focus on alternative energy).

Sometimes the Clinton-Obama echoes are almost scary. During his speech accepting the nomination, Mr. Clinton led the audience in a chant of "We can do it!" Remind you of anything?

Just to be clear, we could - and still might - do a lot worse than a rerun of the Clinton years. But Mr. Obama's most fervent supporters expect much more.

Progressive activists, in particular, overwhelmingly supported Mr. Obama during the Democratic primary even though his policy positions, particularly on health care, were often to the right of his rivals'. In effect, they convinced themselves that he was a transformational figure behind a centrist facade.

They may have had it backward.

Mr. Obama looks even more centrist now than he did before wrapping up the nomination. Most notably, he has outraged many progressives by supporting a wiretapping bill that, among other things, grants immunity to telecom companies for any illegal acts they may have undertaken at the Bush administration's behest.

The candidate's defenders argue that he's just being pragmatic - that he needs to do whatever it takes to win, and win big, so that he has the power to effect major change. But critics argue that by engaging in the same "triangulation and poll-driven politics" he denounced during the primary, Mr. Obama actually hurts his election prospects, because voters prefer candidates who take firm stands.

In any case, what about after the election? The Reagan-Clinton comparison suggests that a candidate who runs on a clear agenda is more likely to achieve fundamental change than a candidate who runs on the promise of change but isn't too clear about what that change would involve.

Of course, there's always the possibility that Mr. Obama really is a centrist, after all.

One thing is clear: for Democrats, winning this election should be the easy part. Everything is going their way: sky-high gas prices, a weak economy and a deeply unpopular president. The real question is whether they will take advantage of this once-in-a-generation chance to change the country's direction. And that's mainly up to Mr. Obama.

Was there enough unity in Unity, N.H., where once- bitter rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama were to kiss and make up on Friday, to form a presidential ticket? Clinton may be the first choice of the 18 million Democrats who voted for her this spring, but Obama has lots of options to help win over Hillary voters.

If he wants gender balance, he can pick Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who was in Denver last week. She's generating veepstakes buzz for kicking coal-fired power plants out of her state in favor of clean energy.

If he wants to woo those working-class voters he might tab John Edwards, who is decidedly non-working- class, but his populism has an appeal. And if he's looking in a different direction, perhaps to win the West, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson would be a nice pickup.

But if he really wants to shake up Washington and traditional party politics, he could name Republican Senator and Bush critic Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to his ticket.

Now it's your turn to tell us whom you would like to see on that Pepsi Center platform with Obama.

By Dan Haley, The Denver Post, June 29, 2008

As the nation's first major party African American nominee for president, Democrat Barack Obama would be testing the audacity of hope in his effort to wrest large blocks of the old Confederacy from Republicans.

The plan is simple: Take record African American turnout in states with large black populations, peel off young, college-educated whites, divide the opposition with a third-party candidate where you can, and reach a "win number" to take Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

If things go really well, aim to add Mississippi, South Carolina and Louisiana, at a minimum forcing Republican Sen. John McCain to spend money and time where he has none to spare.

"In Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina, Sen. Obama is on track to get a higher vote share than any Democrat in 40 years," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said.

"African Americans helped Democrats win two special elections in the Deep South," he added, citing recent Democratic victories in congressional districts in Louisiana and Mississippi long held by Republicans. If those states look "doable" in October, Plouffe said, campaign resources will pour in.

At a campaign event last winter in New Hampshire, Obama boasted he could redraw the South's political map and rock the foundation of every modern Republican presidency since Richard Nixon won in 1968.

"I'll give you one specific example," Obama said. "Mississippi is 40 percent African American, but it votes 25 percent African American. If we just got the African Americans in Mississippi to vote their percentage, Mississippi is suddenly a Democratic state. And Georgia may be a Democratic state. Even South Carolina starts being in play. And I guarantee you African American turnout, if I'm the nominee, goes up 30 percent around the country, minimum."

Presumptive Republican nominee McCain's spokesman, Jeff Sadosky, scoffed: "We are very, very excited when Barack Obama spends money in states we are very, very confident we will carry in November."

Experts are less dismissive, although the strategy is a longshot in many Southern states.

"I think we're going to see the largest African American turnout in the history of the country this fall," said Merle Black, a leading scholar of Southern politics at Emory University and author with his twin brother, Earl, of "Divided America: The Ferocious Power Struggle in American Politics." African Americans typically vote 90 percent Democratic, and Obama could push that to 95 percent, Black said.

Obama has other advantages. McCain is not as popular as President Bush was in the South. He lost most of the Southern primaries to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and is not well liked among evangelicals, the base of the Southern GOP. A recent poll in Georgia showed McCain 16 percentage points behind where Bush was in 2004. Former Georgia Republican turned Libertarian Bob Barr could siphon about 5 percent of the GOP vote.

"The dissatisfaction of the Republicans, the excitement about the Obama campaign, and a third-party candidate have kind of come together to create a situation here where it might be possible for Obama to carry Georgia with less than 50 percent of the vote," Black said.

One recent poll in Georgia showed McCain leading by just one percentage point. Virginia is a dead heat. In North Carolina, McCain is up an average of just four points.

The modern South has seen a big influx of outsiders, making cities such as Atlanta decidedly more liberal than they were. In North Carolina, Obama benefits from a large college population in the Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle region. Virginia is growing Democratic in its northern suburbs.

Plouffe predicted that if Obama holds the states Democrat John Kerry won in 2004 plus Iowa, adding either Virginia or North Carolina would put him at "game, set, match."

He outlined a strategy like the one Obama used to win the primaries that he described as "adjusting the electorate": heavily boost registration and turnout of African Americans and young professionals to squeeze "a couple of points here, a couple of points there" to come up with a majority.

"We know who these unregistered voters are," Plouffe said. "We're going to go find them. We have the organizational capacity to do this."

But Obama's strategy faces serious hurdles, and they go well beyond race.

Kerry, who is white, got just 29 percent of the white vote across the South in 2004. Kerry also drew 90 percent of the black vote, leaving little margin for improvement there.

"Southern whites will not vote for a candidate of any race as liberal as Obama," said Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University. "They will vote in roughly the same proportion as they voted for John Kerry, which is not very many."

In 2004, Kerry failed to win a single Southern state.

The modern South has seen a realignment of white voters, led by college-educated whites who are "overwhelmingly Protestant, they are culturally conservative, and in terms of economics, they are upwardly mobile," Black said. "They have been the backbone of the Republican Party in the South."

Yet while these voters are affluent and urbanized, "This is not like the middle class of San Francisco," he said. "This is a middle class that's much more culturally conservative, and much more individualistic, in terms of their economic interests. They hate paying taxes. They think they're overtaxed."

Obama's appeal falls further in less-urbanized states. Unlike Georgia and Virginia, neither South Carolina nor Mississippi has ever elected an African American to statewide office. In two other states of the old Confederacy, Arkansas and Tennessee, Obama faces his "Appalachian problem" with blue-collar white voters who spurned him in the primaries against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Obama may face his biggest hurdles in states with the largest black populations, said David Bositis, an expert on black voting patterns at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, because that is where racial polarization is most pronounced.

Mississippi's 37 percent black population is the largest in the country. Louisiana and South Carolina are over 30 percent.

"It would have to be a major national landslide for Obama to win Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina," said Curtis Gans, director of the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate.

"You have this tremendous racial polarization, and whites still outnumber blacks in Mississippi," Black said. "Bush in 2004 got 85 percent of the white vote in Mississippi. Is Obama going to run much more than 15 percent of the white vote in Mississippi? I don't think he can break 20 percent."

Bositis calculated that Obama would have to capture 23 percent of the white vote in Mississippi - a 50 percent increase from Kerry's showing - and generate exceptional black turnout.

Longtime Mississippi civil rights activist Lawrence Guyot thinks he can.

"I've watched the transformation of Mississippi," Guyot said. "Imagine, if you will, reading the headlines in your paper the day after the election: Obama carries Mississippi."

White evangelicals "are open to a larger discussion on the role of religion as it relates to the poor," Guyot said. "I think they're looking for someplace else to go and that someplace in this race is Obama."

And Republicans appear to be in surprising trouble, losing not just a recent race for a Mississippi congressional district, but facing a surprisingly close Senate contest in November to replace retired Republican Trent Lott. A Rasmussen poll last week showed McCain up just six percentage points in Mississippi.

A good indicator of whether the Obama campaign strategy is succeeding will be in North Carolina, Black said, if the Democratic candidate for governor, Beverly Purdue, appears with Obama on the stump. "The last time he was in North Carolina," Black said, "she didn't show up."

The Latino vote: Obama accuses McCain of retreating from overhaul of immigration laws; McCain insists it's his top priority. A15

By Carolyn Lochhead, San Francisco Chronicle, June 29, 2008

They had engaged, she said, in a "spirited dialogue - that's the nicest way I could think of putting it" because "we both care so much" about the causes they have in common. "We are one party, we are one America and we are not going to rest until we take back our country."

Every detail of their rally - what Mr Obama called "our little get-together" - had been painstakingly planned to radiate harmony, even down to the bright blue tie he wore to match Mrs Clinton's trouser suit.

They travelled together - sitting in the front seats of a plane once chartered by her but now being used by him - to the tiny town of Unity, New Hampshire, a venue chosen to symbolise their reconciliation.

John McCain and Barack Obama challenged each other for the support of Hispanic voters Saturday, as they made back-to-back speeches to the same group of influential Latino officials in Washington, D.C.

The Latino constituency could be pivotal in the fall. To court it, both candidates pledged to pursue comprehensive immigration reform, and challenged each other's commitment to it.

McCain spoke first and said immigration reform "will be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow." He highlighted the unsuccessful immigration legislation he helped author in the Senate.

"I know this country ... would be the poorer were we deprived of the patriotism, industry and decency of those millions of Americans whose families came here from our hemisphere - Mexico, Central and South America. I will honor their contributions to America for as long as I live," McCain told the group, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

McCain pointed to his efforts to reform immigration laws. He acknowledged the economic importance of immigrant laborers while saying those who are here illegally should be dealt with.

McCain, who was interrupted four times by anti-war protesters, also made a patriotic appeal to the Latino group. He recalled how he refused early release when he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam because he would not leave behind those who had been imprisoned longer. One of those fellow prisoners was a Mexican-American.

"To leave him behind would have shamed us," McCain said.

Obama later noted that McCain's focus on immigration reform was not quite as sharp during the GOP primary.

During a January debate in California, McCain repeatedly refused to say whether he'd vote for his own proposal if it came to the Senate floor - some critics have said his reform measures amounted to amnesty since they would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.

"It will not be voted on," McCain reasoned, arguing that Americans made clear they want the border secured first.

"(McCain) deserved great credit as a champion of comprehensive reform. I admired him for it," Obama told the same group of Latino officials Saturday. "But what he didn't mention is when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment. ... If we are going to solve the challenges we face, we can't vacillate."

Obama said the country still needs such reform to secure the borders but also punish employers who exploit immigrant labor and provide a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented residents already here.

"That has to be one of our priorities as well," Obama said to loud applause. "And I will say it now and I will say it after I'm president."

Responding to Obama's criticism, McCain said Obama "worked to kill" last year's Senate legislation by voting for amendments to it that Democratic sponsors opposed.

Obama was making the first of three scheduled speeches to Hispanic organizations in less than a month. He plans to speak to two other major groups in July. He also conducted interviews with Spanish-language news outlets Saturday.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs told FOX News on Saturday that Latino voters are engaged with Obama's candidacy, not McCain's.

"Senator McCain tailors his message to whatever group he's speaking to," he said.

"If you look at the recent polling, Barack Obama has a huge lead among Latino voters, because voters understand that what Barack Obama's agenda is - that is a quality of education, that is health care ... comprehensive and real immigration reform."

A recent AP-Yahoo News poll showed that Obama leads McCain among Hispanics, 47 percent to 22 percent with 26 percent undecided.

Still, Obama doesn't have a lock on this volatile group. During the Democratic primary, Hispanics preferred rival Hillary Clinton to Obama by nearly 2-to-1.

McCain, for his part, senses opportunity and is hoping to build on Republicans' recent inroads in this Democratic-trending group.

President Bush captured about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, the most ever for a GOP presidential candidate. His Democratic rival John Kerry won 53 percent, down from the 62 percent former Vice President Al Gore got in 2000.

Clinton, who appeared with Obama at their first joint campaign rally Friday in New Hampshire, warmed up the crowd at NALEO on Thursday in an effort to convince her former backers to line up behind the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"Every issue you care about personally ... is really at risk," Clinton told the Latino group Thursday. "We cannot afford four more years of the same. ... And therefore we have to be determined to chart a new course and we cannot do that without electing Barack Obama our next president."

UNITY - The "Unite For Change" rally more than doubled the population of Unity yesterday as 40 school buses shuttled more than 4,000 people to the field behind Unity Elementary School.

"This is a real shot in the arm for Unity," said longtime resident Ken Hall, who is known as the unofficial mayor of Unity. "For something this big to happen here, we never would have believed it."

Hall introduced Sen. Barack Obama and former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters at the rally.

"I also have a little confession to make," Hall said. "I'm a lifelong Republican.''

The audience quieted down until Hall added, "I voted for Senator McCain in the this year's primary, but I may be part of this change!"

And with that, the audience erupted.

Campaign staffers for both Obama and Clinton said planning and logistics for yesterday's rally went smoothly, despite the venue's obstacles, which included country roads and no on-site parking. Aside from long bus rides to and from the rally -- either from Twin State Speedway in Claremont or Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury -- metal detectors, bag searches and police dogs awaited the throng that turned out. But few seemed to care.

"I'm feeling the love," said Lisa Campbell, a massage therapist from Claremont and a former Clinton supporter. "We're unified, no doubt about it."

Campbell said the transition from supporting Clinton to supporting Obama was tough for the first few days, but when it came to deciding between Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, the choice was easy.

"I have the utmost respect for McCain as a hero and all that stuff, but I don't want him as my President," she said. "He's afraid to buck the party line. Obama's not afraid."

Unity, population about 1,700, was selected as the site of the rally because of its symbolic name and because Obama and Clinton each received 107 votes there in the primary election.

"Now, we look at them as 214 votes for change," Obama said during his speech.

The rally felt a bit like a country fair, but with a more serious tone. Voters purchased hamburgers and hotdogs from the local Kiwanis Club and mingled with friends and neighbors, and many bought Obama T-shirts after the event as they waited for shuttle buses to bring them back to their cars.

Alan Willard of Newport, an Obama supporter since the primary campaigns began, said he thought the rally achieved its goal of asserting unity among Democrats.

"People forget that if you can bring hope to anything, it's of enormous value," he said, "and that's what this campaign has done."

Willard said he gained more respect and admiration for Clinton because of her speech.

"I thought today was the first time the country was able to see the transcendent goodness of Hillary Clinton," he said.

Dozens of law enforcement officers and emergency personnel maintained crowd control and responded to at least six medical emergencies, said Mike Batista, a Sullivan County sheriff's deputy. Most of the medical calls were related to the heat, he said.

There were no criminal disturbances.

The public safety agencies staffing the event included the New Hampshire State Police, the New Hampshire National Guard, the Sullivan, Cheshire and Grafton county sheriff's departments, the Lempster Fire Department, two local ambulance services and several federal agencies.

By KRISTEN SENZ, Union Leader, June 28, 2008

Fewer than five months remain before the November election, and, slowly but surely, the outlines of the national playing field are coming into focus.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) appears committed to expanding the traditional group of battleground states -- launching his first ad of the general election in 18 states, including 14 that President Bush carried in 2004. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) seems to envision a more traditional playing field, concentrating his advertising on 10 (or so) states including quadrennial battlegrounds such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Can people trust what Barack Obama says?

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Saturday that, at least in some instances, they shouldn't.

Campaign finance was the issue at hand. McCain, speaking at a Republican fundraiser that netted some $2 million, slammed the Illinois senator and presumptive Democratic nominee for going back on a promise to take public funds during the general election if his Republican counterpart did the same.

"This election is about trust and trusting people's word," McCain said. "Unfortunately, apparently on several items, Senator Obama's word cannot be trusted."

Harsh stuff. Obama, who broke fundraising records during his victorious primary fight against New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, said he made the decision to forego public funds because the Republicans had become masters at gaming the "broken" public finance system.

Sticking to his original promise would have limited Obama to spending $84 million in the two months between the Democratic convention and the Nov. 4 election and barred him from taking additional donations.

McCain does not expect to match Obama's fundraising success.

A spokesman for Obama said the Republican candidate had a history of his own when it came to changing stances. "Senator McCain's path to the nomination required repeatedly changing his positions to appeal to the Republican base," Tommy Vietor said.

"From supporting Bush tax breaks for the rich that he once voted against, to saying he'd now vote against his own immigration reform legislation, the John McCain of 2008 is completely different from the man we knew just a few years ago."

During the Democratic primary season, all those eons ago, Barack Obama deployed no more powerful line against Hillary Clinton than his insistence that 'we can't just tell people what they want to hear. We need to tell them what they need to hear'. More than just a catchy couplet, the phrase was a deadly arrow into the heart of Clintonism.

Few things crippled Hillary's campaign like the belief that she would say or do anything to get elected, from supporting the Iraq War to claiming she'd dodged sniper fire at Tuzla. In Obama, Democrats seemed to have found something refreshing: a brave truth-teller unmoored to pollsters such as Mark Penn, someone who had spoken out against Iraq the war and could at last restore integrity and honesty to Washington politics.

But since Obama dispatched Clinton, he has seemed rather more attuned to what the people want to hear or perhaps he has simply traded the wants of a liberal audience for those of a more moderate one. Either way, he is treading that reliably time-worn path every nominee follows to the political centre. And the question for Democrats is whether to applaud Obama as a cunning politician who knows how to win or fret that he's given undecided voters reason to think his 'politics of hope' are just politics as usual.

First, let us count the repositionings. This past week, Obama expressed surprising disagreement with a Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the death penalty for child rapists (he had previously questioned the rationale of capital punishment). He resisted criticising another high court ruling that affirmed gun owners' rights, even though he had previously seemed to support the gun-control measure at issue.

Obama also dropped his once-stern opposition to a Congressional measure, despised on the left, that would legally shield telecommunications companies that co-operated with extra-legal US government eavesdropping. To some, even the contents of Obama's iPod, recently revealed to Rolling Stone, smacked of political calculation, combining as it did Baby Boomer classics (Stones, Springsteen, Dylan) with highbrow jazz (Coltrane, Miles Davis) mindless top 40 pop (Sheryl Crow) and edgy-but-not-too-edgy hip hop (Jay-Z, Ludacris). Perhaps this playlist should be titled 'Majority Coalition'.

In truth, Obama has been creeping towards the sanitised centre for a while. After disdaining American flag lapel pins last year, he now wears one regularly. When Jeremiah Wright, his controversial former pastor, provoked outrage in March, Obama insisted he could not 'disown' him, but proceeded to do so just a few weeks later with a public condemnation.

Obama now concedes that his sharp criticism of free trade agreements such as Nafta before industrial-area primary voters might have been 'overheated'. He's toughened his talk on Iran and in favour of Israel. He's even shaded his rhetoric on Iraq, downplaying his primary season vow to withdraw all US combat troops within 16 months for more careful talk of a gradual and 'responsible' exit.

Each of these positions has been generally consistent with the prevailing views of the swing voters Obama will need to win in November: independents, liberal Republicans and moderate Democrats whose votes are still up for grabs. After all, Obama has already locked down most core Democrats, who wouldn't think of staying home or voting for the pro-war McCain. But according to an early June Gallup poll, McCain is beating Obama among independents who don't lean toward either party.

McCain campaign operatives have welcomed these interesting new dimensions of Obama's profile. Their core argument, after all, is that Obama is a charlatan - not a harbinger of new politics but a typical pol who has never taken real risks (unlike McCain, who defied his party on campaign finance reform in the late 1990s and recent public opinion over the Iraq War). Obama, they say, is a just another unprincipled flip-flopper: 'John Kerry with a tan,' as prominent conservative activist Grover Norquist recently put it, in a formulation of questionable taste. (Never mind that McCain himself revamped core positions on issues ranging from immigration to tax cuts to secure the Republican nomination.)

That Obama is not the living incarnation of pure principle should be no shock; his vaunted political courage has always been overstated. While prescient, his famous 2002 speech opposing the Iraq War, for instance, was hardly a political risk. Obama represented Chicago's highly liberal Hyde Park area as a state senator and was counting on a similarly anti-war coalition of African-Americans and white liberals in his upcoming US Senate candidacy. And while taking on the Clintons may have been audacious, it was also opportunistic. He did not feel 'the fierce urgency of now' until after the expected challenger to Hillary's crown, former Virginia governor Mark Warner, abandoned his candidacy at the last minute. Savvy Democrats understand that there was always a certain genius to Obama's positioning, that to some degree his talk of changing politics was itself a skilful pose which turned Clinton into a reactionary foil. They will appreciate his awareness for what it takes to get elected. Democrats have long believed that their side practises politics less skilfully, less ruthlessly, than the Republicans. Hence one of Clinton's main promises to Democrats was that she could beat the Republicans at their own cynical game.

For now, they will have to hope that Obama hasn't gone too far. An ever-confounding question of politics is to know at what point a shift to a more majority position is outweighed by the disillusionment and scorn of flip-flopping. Wherever that tipping point is, however, Obama hasn't yet reached it. He is still better off with his current stances than he would be, say, explaining why he doesn't believe that child rapists deserve to die.

It's an unfortunate reality of politics that voters don't want to hear what they need to hear. We want to hear what we want to hear. Obama's recognition of that is a testament that he is, for better or worse, a shrewd, if far from pure, politician. Somewhere Hillary Clinton must be chuckling ruefully.

By Michael Crowley, The Observer, June 29, 2008

UNITY, N.H. - Sen. Barack Obama wanted a symbolic beginning for his alliance with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he achieved it Friday when the former rivals traveled here together for an afternoon rally designed to unite Democrats for the fall campaign.

Besides the message its name sent, the town of Unity also had the distinction of splitting its votes evenly in New Hampshire's presidential primary, with Clinton and Obama each picking up 107 votes, and it served as a backdrop for transitioning the former first lady into a substantial role in the Obama campaign.

"I know what we start here in this field in Unity will end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president," Clinton said, speaking to a crowd of 4,000 outside Unity Elementary School on a steamy day.

"I don't think it's at all unknown among this audience that this was a hard-fought primary campaign," she continued. "But today and every day going forward, we stand shoulder to shoulder for the ideals we share, the values we cherish and the country we love."

Neither side expects major problems in melding the two operations, but after the party's closest nominating contest in modern history, there is no expectation that it will happen overnight. The emotions from the primary fight remain raw for some Clinton supporters, but Obama advisers were encouraged by Friday's first step.

"I think they stand in a pretty good place," senior adviser David Axelrod said.

Taking his turn at the lectern after Clinton introduced him, Obama was effusive in his praise for her. "As someone who took the same historic journey as Senator Clinton, who watched her campaign and debate, I know firsthand how good she is, how tough she is, how passionate she is, how committed she is to the causes that brought all of us here today."

Clinton's first order of business will be soothing her disappointed and even angry supporters, including many women who regard Obama as an upstart who denied the country its first female president. Clinton could help boost Obama's support among women, whose backing will be crucial to his prospects in November.

In Unity, she vouched for the rival she had sparred with for 18 months. "I know Senator Obama. I've served with him in the Senate for four years. I've campaigned with and against him for lots of months," she told the crowd. "So I've had a front-row seat to his candidacy. And I've seen his strength and his determination, his grace and his grit."

But even in Unity, some Clinton backers were not ready to let go. "We want Hillary!" a handful of fans shouted as she spoke.

"It's over!" a voice yelled back.

"We cannot let this moment slip away," Clinton pressed on. "For anyone who voted for me and who is now considering not voting, or voting for Senator McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider."

Stitching the Democratic Party back together after the grueling primary campaign is one of Obama's top priorities, and his advisers expressed optimism that Clinton has shown no reluctance to help make that happen.

If Obama is able to fully consolidate the Democratic vote, he will make it much harder for his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, to win the presidency, because many more Americans currently identify with the Democratic Party rather than the GOP.

By Shailagh Murray and Dan Balz, The Washington Post, June 28, 2008

UNITY, N.H. - Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton set off on their maiden political voyage on Friday, trading their rivalry from the presidential primary battle for a newfound display of harmony intended to set a fresh tone for any Democrats still harboring bitterness from their grueling duel.

It was a day of choreographed unity - their destination was a rally here in this small western New Hampshire town - with the two senators appearing together before the cameras for the first time. Three weeks after suspending her campaign, Mrs. Clinton renewed her endorsement and pledged to do all she could to help Democrats win the White House in the fall.

"Unity is not only a beautiful place, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Mrs. Clinton said. "I know what we start here in this field of unity will end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office."

Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton strode onto an outdoor stage here, arm-in-arm, waving to a friendly crowd. Their messages complemented one another, as did his blue tie and her blue pantsuit.

"For sixteen months, Senator Clinton and I have shared the stage as rivals," Mr. Obama said. "But today, I couldn't be happier and more honored that we're sharing it as allies in the effort to bring this country a new and better day."

Here in Unity, the merging of the crowds did not go without a few momentary flaws. When the music was cued and the senators were introduced, they did not appear on stage. For several minutes, the crowd waited, their cheers gradually diminishing to an awkward silence. The enthusiasm sparked anew when they finally arrived and walked past large letters that spelled U-N-I-T-Y.

Mrs. Clinton spoke first, with Mr. Obama sitting on a stool. His shirtsleeves rolled up, he listened intently and often led the applause at her remarks. The crowd, a mix of loyal supporters of Mr. Obama and die-hard admirers of Mrs. Clinton, broke into a chant of "Obama, Obama, Obama." A few moments later, several women in the crowd led a chant of "Hillary, Hillary, Hillary."

"If you like the direction the country is going, then vote for Senator McCain, but if you think we need a new course, a new agenda, vote for Barack Obama," Mrs. Clinton told the crowd. "To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Senator McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider."

Mr. Obama implored Mrs. Clinton's supporters to join the Democratic campaign. He praised the Clintons, saying: "I know how much we need both Bill and Hillary Clinton as a party and a country." Echoing a line he heard from the crowd, he added, "She rocks. She rocks."

The arrival of Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton stirred something of a spectacle here, with hundreds of people turning out on the grounds of an old elementary school. The site was selected for the community's symbolic name and the fact that both candidates received 107 votes in the town during the state's primary in January.

If the purpose of the day was to telegraph a unified Democratic Party, images of that message were plentiful.

Their motorcades arrived simultaneously at an airport in Washington, where they exchanged a kiss and smiled as they stepped onto the same chartered plane. They sat in adjoining seats, chatting the whole flight to New Hampshire. Then, for more than an hour, they rode on the same bus to Unity.

On a sultry summer day, with the aroma of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs in the air, the rally took on the trappings of a political festival. A giant blue banner, "Unite for Change" provided a backdrop against a meadow of trees. Many of those in the crowd, who came from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and beyond, wore faded stickers of their favorite candidate.

The pleasantries, though, belied a litany of extenuating issues between the two former rivals. Mrs. Clinton asked a Washington powerbroker lawyer, Robert Barnett, to help negotiate the talks, which include helping repay her campaign debt and securing a prominent spot at the party's summer convention.

None of those details were discussed, at least in public, on Friday.

"Are you ready for change in Washington?" New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch asked the crowd, which answered with resounding approval.

The rally came one day after the two senators met at an invitation-only gathering Thursday evening in Washington. Mrs. Clinton invited Mr. Obama to meet her leading contributors (He brought a personal check of $2,300 as a goodwill gesture to help wipe away more than $12 million in debt for her campaign expenses.) and asked them to help Mr. Obama defeat Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

"We have to make it a priority in our lives to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States," Mrs. Clinton told her supporters, including many who came with their own checks for Mr. Obama's campaign. "his was a hard-fought campaign. That's what made it so exciting and intense and why people's passions ran so high on both sides. I know my supporters have extremely strong feelings, and I know Barack's do as well.

She added, "But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win back this White House."

For his part, Mr. Obama urged his supporters to help ease Mrs. Clinton's debt and pave the way for her to become a leading surrogate for his campaign. There was no mention of whether she will be considered as a prospective running mate.

Terry McAuliffe, the campaign chairman for Mrs. Clinton, said it was time to get her contributors "fired up for the general election." There was no time, he said, to look back.

"It was a great race. She got 18 million votes and she realizes what was accomplished," Mr. McAuliffe said in an interview. "No one likes to lose, but you know what? She's moved on."

(Authors' Note: Barack Obama and his supporters are starting to reach out to Hillary Clinton and her supporters with a new understanding and respect. The two candidates appeared jointly in New Hampshire yesterday. That will be followed tonight by thousands of "Unite for Change" house parties across the country where the Obama campaign hopes supporters of other candidates will come together to support the nominee. These are positive efforts, but we do not see an easy path to harmony. In the trenches -- on the blogs, and in many informal debates including the authors' Clinton vs. Obama household -- the decibel levels have declined but supporters of both candidates continue the fight. Both sides are far more aware of the slights and insults coming from the other side than they have been of their own side's contribution to the acrimony. Clinton and Obama supporters have enough time before the Convention in August to gain perspective and build connections to reunite the party for victory, but there is real work to be done.)

After a long primary campaign, Barack Obama is now the Democratic nominee for president. The dream of America advancing to the point where it could elect the first woman president must be deferred and no one can say for how long. Women who feel they have waited a lifetime for a chance to vote for a woman for President now must wait even longer. In addition to this disappointment, there is real anger about how the campaign was conducted and covered in the media.

Some of Clinton's supporters may end up voting for John McCain because they prefer his experience, and some may choose to sit the election out. Each choice is their right as citizens, but most Clinton supporters will eventually vote for Barack Obama. The real work to be done is not about votes, it is about healing strained relationships within a political party, and in this civil war of a primary, within families and workplaces, so all of us can truly join in the celebration when Barack Obama makes history by taking the nomination in Denver.

In the Hollywood formula, there is a recurring scene in movies as diverse as Star Wars and the Devil Wears Prada, where one character surprisingly saves their rival's life (or perhaps their job, reputation, or alibi) when both realize they can trust each other because they are united in their cause. Then someone says in the idiom of the day, "Don't worry, partner, I've got your back." Democrats should want to get to a version of this scene before the Convention in Denver so we can all enjoy the celebration we deserve - young and old, black, white, brown, rainbow, blue collar, white collar, pink collar, women and men, arm in arm singing "Happy Days Are Here Again."

There is no way to get to this happy place without working through some serious issues. Clinton supporters want someone to take seriously the charge of sexism they believe was rampant in the media and was occasionally coming from the Obama campaign. Obama supporters respond by charging the Clinton campaign with racism. Supporters of both candidates are continuing in campaign mode - unwilling to admit any error on their side and ready with a long list of examples of the other side's transgressions. The simple truth is that both sides crossed the line, and neither candidate is entirely innocent and pure. The vestiges of growing up in a racist and sexist society will creep into the speech and thought patterns of even the most diligently politically correct.

The lists of transgressions are well established. A lot of the anger Clinton supporters are experiencing is directed toward the media: Tucker Carlson suggesting that Senator Clinton makes him fear castration; Chris Matthews' suggestion that Clinton owes her Senate seat to Monica Lewinsky, and aggressive commentaries from Keith Olbermann and Maureen Dowd. But beyond questioning Barack Obama's silence on these slights, Obama and his campaign made several of their own errors.

Obama dismissed a female reporter's question with, "hold on one second, sweetie" (he did not get back to her question but did publicly apologize for using the term). The Obama campaign celebrated its Iowa victory by playing Jay-Z's "99 Problems" which prominently features the "b-word." And perhaps most opportunistically, Obama countered Clinton's claims of international experience from her time as First Lady by suggesting that his international experience was more than just "what world leaders I went and talked to in the ambassador's house I had tea with," and other phrases designed to invoke demeaning gender stereotypes. Many Clinton supporters believe this primary season has been a lesson in how far women have yet to go to be seen as worthy of controlling the full measure of American power.

Rather than engaging this discussion, Obama supporters tend to counter-attack on the subject of race. The claims of racist remarks coming from the Clinton campaign have been exhaustively reported in the press, but the clearest transgression, and coming directly from the candidate herself, was the remark recorded and reported by USA Today. A tired Senator Clinton, who later apologized for the comment said the following in May in answer to a question about how she could still win the nomination, "There was an AP article posted that found how Senator Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." To Obama supporters this was a candid admission that Clinton was willing to be the beneficiary of American racist attitudes if it delivered her the nomination.

Intra-party partisans will doubtless read the above paragraphs as confirmation that their side was the more wronged, but our point is neither side should read the above and deny that their side slipped up. As Democrats, we should accept the imperfections of our political leaders as we accept the challenge to work to move America forward even if it takes more than a generation to completely eradicate racism, sexism, and other "-isms" from our speech and thought patterns.

The good news is there is a very good chance that the next president will not be a white male. Voters in the Democratic Party made an early decision that no matter how well Senators Biden, Dodd, and Edwards debated, the party could muster little enthusiasm for nominating someone of their pigment and gender orientation. Long before selecting its nominee, the moment center of the Democratic electorate reached a verdict that this IS going to be a change election.

Between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the first woman candidate and the first African American candidate with a realistic chance to win the nomination and become elected President, someone had to win. Barack Obama did win. Hillary supporters need to understand his victory was legitimate, biased media coverage notwithstanding. And even if Michigan and Florida had been normally contested and every vote counted, other things being equal, Obama would still be the nominee.

Obama earned the victory through his own talent. The view of many Clinton supporters of Obama as an empty suit, all rhetoric and no substance, never really held water any more than did the view of Clinton as an uncaring unethical monster who would do anything to win. Both sides need to validate rather than diminish the roughly 18 million voters who turned out for each of the candidates. They were not duped nor were they voting their gender, race, and age. Rather, the historic levels of turnout for both candidates were earned and deserved.

So what should the guests do at the Unite for Change parties? They should treat each other with respect. Each guest should try to get over the habit of denying any wrongdoing by their own candidate and responding to the other side's concerns by sharpening their attacks. The primary campaign is over.

But most importantly party guests should refocus on the long list of areas where we all agree. As Democrats we stand in opposition to racism AND sexism. One lasting legacy of the Clinton campaign should be a unified recommitment to reversing the backlash against feminism and a great place to start would be a vigilant defense of Michelle Obama against overt and veiled sexist and racist characterizations.

We all agree on the need to responsibly change course in Iraq, and to strengthen the effectiveness of our military by enhancing our nation's ability to project economic, cultural, and diplomatic force. We agree on the need for new economic policies that give tax relief, affordable health care and other supports to hard working families, and on the need for a forward looking energy policy that uses federal government leadership to help transition the economy away from fossil fuels to new energy realities.

The Unite for Change house party guests should move beyond denial to respect, so we can all move forward. And they should practice singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" together. We like the Barbara Streisand version best.

UNITY, N.H. - At a rally staged in a field of wildflowers, in a town so small that some residents of this state had never heard of it, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton attempted to show Friday that if they could put months of divisive campaigning behind them, so too should their supporters.

The joint appearance under a strong summer sun capped a choreographed six-hour trip that started in Washington with a kiss between former rivals on an airport tarmac and ended in a rural New Hampshire outpost that attracted a crowd larger than the population of the town.

Shortly after 1 p.m., Obama and Clinton emerged from Unity Elementary School, flanked by photographers who captured them smiling and strolling their way to the gathering of more than 4,000 people. When it was time for their introduction, Obama worked the line first and she followed.

It took three renditions of U2's "Beautiful Day" for them to make it to the stage.

From the name of the town to their complementary wardrobes (his blue tie matched her pantsuit), the day was a harmonious and near-flawless public reconciliation after the most hard-fought primary campaign in a generation.

"Unity is not only a beautiful place as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Clinton said as soon as she stepped to the microphone. "And I know when we start here in this field in Unity, we'll end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president."

Obama returned the praise, saying more than once that he needs her and former President Bill Clinton on his side.

"I've admired her as a leader, I've learned from her as a candidate, I am proud to call her my friend," he said, "and I know how much we'll need both Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton as a party and a country in the months and years to come."

Obama and Clinton met Friday in front of the cameras at Reagan National Airport, where their motorcades arrived simultaneously. He pecked her on the cheek and they boarded his campaign plane, sitting together through the flight. On the hour-long bus ride from the airport to Unity, the senators reminisced, said David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist.

"It was very warm," he said.

On stage, Clinton didn't break her smile when the crowd chanted "Yes we can," Obama's signature call. And Obama egged on an audience member who yelled, "Hillary rocks."

"She rocks," Obama repeated. "That's the point I'm trying to make."

But if there was unity on stage, it wasn't uniform throughout the crowd.

Two women held "Hillary for President" signs above their heads during the speeches. One of them, who stuffed bits of napkins into her ears while Obama spoke, intermittently yelled out her disapproval: "We want Hillary!"

Other women admitted to heavy hearts about the outcome. They came to Unity from Pennsylvania and Connecticut and Vermont to watch her body language and to hear her words. They were looking for clues that she's moving on, so they can, too.

"I'm disappointed that she was not the candidate," said Mary Ann Allsop, 51, a resident of Concord, N.H., who said she almost wore her "Hillary" button. "I still think she should have been."

When asked whether she would vote for Obama, Allsop considered the thought for a few minutes before replying yes.

Clinton attempted to reel in the disaffected.

"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Sen. McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider," she said.

She encouraged her supporters to join Obama "to create an unstoppable force for change we can believe in."

"I know that he'll work for you," Clinton said. "He'll fight for you, and he'll stand up for you every single day in the White House."

The reunion of two political titans could not have been staged in a more secluded spot - in a town with no stop lights, one general store and residents who prize seclusion. The biggest event of the year is a festival with a cast-iron skillet toss. The honorary mayor, Ken Hall, wore a pair of suspenders and new sneakers he bought for the occasion.

"I am a life-long Republican, and I voted for Sen. McCain," Hall said. "But I may be part of this change."

By Wednesday night, the owner of the general store, Will's Place, had resorted to chasing TV reporters out of the parking lot because they were scaring away his regular customers.

"People move here because they like their privacy," said Cheri LeMere, 39, a clerk at Will's Place for 11 years. "I can't see someone living here who wants to be noticed."

The Obama campaign picked Unity for its name and its dead-even results in the primary: Clinton received 107 votes, as did Obama. Someone in New Hampshire brought the town to the attention of campaign manager David Plouffe, and aides fixated on making Unity the site of their premier unity event - despite the extraordinary logistical hurdles.

The campaign created a rally site out of an elementary school field by trucking in bleachers, American flags and giant letters that spelled "UNITY."

The 4,000 people who showed up were bused from remote locations. They began arriving at dawn, and it took hours to transport everybody to Unity and hours more for them to make it back to their cars. The lines were long for the security searches, the food truck and the porta-potties.

They came and stood for hours under a scorching sun for different reasons.

Some wanted to witness history. Some wanted closure, and others wanted a glimpse of Obama, their choice from the start. Like the more than 300 journalists who decamped here, they looked for body language and other hints of whether Obama and Clinton's chemistry is real, whether unity is possible between these former competitors.

Miren Etcheverry, 53, a former Hillary supporter who still wishes she had prevailed, said she was slowly converting.

By Carrie Budoff Brown, Politico, June 27, 2008

Barack Obama, elegant practitioner of political pragmatism, sounded passionless last week talking about guns. His careful tiptoeing after the Supreme Court's landmark decision overthrowing a Washington, D.C., handgun ban gave Republican John McCain the opening his wobbling campaign has been aching for.

While Obama parsed, McCain bellowed.

Obama: "I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through commonsense, effective safety measures."

Translation: I'm leading McCain in moderate swing states and looking soft on guns will mess that up.

McCain: "Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today's ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right to free speech and assembly."

Translation: Hallelujah! I finally have a way to whale on the wunderkind!

While it's fair to question just how successful handgun bans have been in reducing the murder rate -- which has spiked 13 percent in Chicago this year -- it's also critical to engage in a bold dialogue about this country's obsession with its guns.

If not gun bans, then what? If not now, when?

Barack Obama is a different kind of candidate, with a capacity to move this nation as it hasn't been moved in years. But with every carefully calibrated statement he makes, the less moved we may be, and the less different he may become.

By Carol Marin, Chicago Sun-Times, June 28, 2008

UNITY, NH - Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton staged a public lovefest yesterday in their first joint appearance since the bitter Democratic primary ended.

"I've admired her as a leader, I've learned from her as a candidate. She rocks," Obama said, after a Clinton supporter yelled out that sentiment.

"I'm proud to call her a friend."

After flying to the event together in Obama's campaign plane and chatting most of the way, Obama gave Clinton a hug and a peck on the cheek before the two joined and waved to the outdoor crowd.

Obama described Clinton's campaign as an inspiration to young girls everywhere - but then added a cheeky comment.

"They can take for granted that women can do anything that the boys can do, and do it better - and do it in heels," he said.

"Unity is not only a beautiful place, as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Clinton said from a podium as Obama sat next to her on a stool, coatless with his shirtsleeves rolled up.

"And I know when we start here in this field in Unity, we'll end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president," Clinton said.

The two Democrats chose to make their joint appearance in Unity not only because of its name, but because in the January New Hampshire primary, they tied here with 107 votes each.

Clinton vowed to do all she could to elect her former opponent as he prepares for a general election campaign against the Republican candidate, John McCain.

"I was honored to be in this race with Barack, and I am proud that we had a spirited dialogue," she said, earning a knowing laugh from a crowd familiar with the roughness of the campaign.

"That was the nicest way I could think of phrasing it," she joked.

"But it was spirited because we both care so much, and so do our supporters.

"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting, or voting for Senator McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider."

Obama brought up the issue of perceived sexism in the campaign, mentioning "past bias and outdated attitudes," adding, "We shattered barriers that have stood firm since the founding of our nation."

The crowd of about 4,000 in this hamlet chosen to signify Democratic togetherness applauded the calls for solidarity. But there were chants of "Hill-a-ry" at one point, and a woman screamed for Hillary to be on the ticket as vice president.

A few angry Clinton backers held up signs. One said "under the bus" and another referenced "bitter gun owners" against Obama.

Obama also made a direct appeal to Bill Clinton, whose office issued a terse single-sentence statement of endorsement of him this week.

"We need them. We need them badly. Not just my campaign, but the American people need their service and their vision and their wisdom in the months and years to come," he said.

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama went before about 200 of the New York Senator's top fundraisers at Washington's Mayflower Hotel, an event that was described as emotional by participants and served as the prelude to their public appearance together in Unity, New Hampshire, tomorrow.

Among the highlights: Obama told the gathering he had personally written a check for $2,300 to help retire her campaign debt of more than $20 million and urged his top donors to do the same, drawing a standing ovation from the Clinton backers. The full pool report, from the Post's own Shailagh Murray, follows after the jump.

Quick summary: The 30-minute event was emotional and upbeat. Both candidates warmly received, generous to each other, and very focused on winning. About 200 people attended. Partial guest list below.

Also, before the event, your pooler witnessed Obama finance committee chair Penny Pritzker writing a $4,600 check from her and her husband to help retire Clinton's debt. "We're helping. It's important," Pritzker said, on her way into the ballroom.

The M.C. for the night was Terry McAuliffe. As Clinton walked on stage, followed by Obama, Clinton's money man pointed out that the group had collectively raised $230 million for Clinton's campaign. Congratulating Obama, McAuliffe rallied the troops one last time, "This, folks, was a magnificent race...This party is on fire."

Turning back to Clinton, McAuliffe said she has a great future, "no matter what she does. If she wants to become pope, it doesn't matter."

Obama and McAuliffe embraced and joked as Clinton moved up to the podium. She started by knocking down the pope idea: "First, I'd have to become Catholic, and second, we don't want to go there."

Clinton profusely thanked her supporters for "what you each have done over so many years. I look out and I see faces of people who have been friends and colleagues and warriors at arms on so many different occasions."

She lamented that the party had only won three of the last 10 presidential elections. "That is a sobering thought," she said, adapting her electability argument from the primary campaign. "For me this is intensely personal, because I want to see our country once again not just solving problems, which sounds very pragmatic, but lifting up our sights and finding the promise of our country by once again producing the progress that is truly the American birthright. It has slipped away from us."

She recalled her many months on the campaign trail - the countless people she had met, and all of their struggles. Obama stood next to her, looking on as Clinton spoke. "We have to make it a priority in our lives to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States," Clinton said, to sustained applause.

"This was a hard-fought campaign," she continued. "That's what made it so exciting and intense and why people's passions ran so high on both sides. I know my supporters have extremely strong feelings, and I know Barack's do as well. But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win back this White House."

"Here here!" a man shouted, to more robust applause.

Clinton acknowledged Reps. Sheila Jackson-Lee and Stephanie Tubbs Jones, two of her most prominent and devoted African American supporters. Someone pointed out that Rep. Anthony Weiner was in the room as well.

And then she wrapped up with this: "Let me, to my friends, and you are all my friends, I am just so intensely grateful to each and every one of you. We have a lot of work to do, going forward, not only the election, but once the election is over, to making sure we ralize all the benfits that this election can and should bring to our country. So let me introduce my friend Sen. Barack Obama to my friends, all of these wonderful people who have met so much to me in my life."

Next it was Obama's turn, and he told two stories about his family to "illustrate the extraordinary nature of (Clinton's) public service, and extraordinary nature of her campaign."

One was the familiar tale of Obama's maternal grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line during World War II, but who never went to college because she didn't qualify for the G.I. bill -- yet rose from bank secretary to bank vice president.

He talked to her frequently during the primary season, and obviously "she was rooting for her grandson," Obama said. But she also complained that Clinton wasn't getting a fair shake. "When I see that instinct of hers to fight on behalf of those who need a champion, she reminds me a little of me," Obama's grandmother told him. He said the story illustrated "the ability of Hillary Clinton to inspire passion on behalf of those who have been left out in the past."

Then he told of being surprised that his 9-year-old daughter Malia had been well aware of the historic nature of the Clinton-Obama duel. Her father, she knew, could be the first African American president. But she also observed that Clinton could be the first woman. "Then she said, it's about time, and rolled over and went to bed," Obama said.

As the laughter died down, he continued, "between my grandmother's generation and my young daughter, there's a testimony to the challenges that are hard won and hard fought. To the point that my 9-year-old takes for granted that of course we can have a woman president. Of course we can have an African-American president. But that doesn't come just by the passage of time. It comes because people are consistently working and fighting."

Like Clinton, he recalled the many struggling people he has met on the campaign trail. He said of his former rival, "It was an extraordinary honor to be alongside her during the course of this campaign. It was an extraordinary test." Her recognized "her tenacity, her fighting spirit. I am a better candidate as a consequence of having run against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton."

Obama continued, "I recognize that this room shared the same passion that a roomful of my supporters would show. I do not expect that passion to be transferred. Sen. Cinton is unique, and your relationships with her are unique." But he added, "Sen. Clinton and I at our core agree deeply that this country needs to change."

Finally, at the end of his remarks, Obama made a direct appeal for support. "I'm going to need Hillary by my side campaigning during his election, and I'm going to need all of you." He recounted how he had told his top fundraisers this week "to get out their checkbooks and start working to make sure Sen. Clinton -- the debt that's out there needs to be taken care of."

And that, folks, was the night's big applause line. In vowing to help pay off Clinton's debt, Obama won a standing ovation.

The Washington Post, June 26, 2008

No policy proposal more sharply divided Barack Obama from Hillary Clinton than the former first lady's plan requiring adults to purchase health insurance.

But as the one-time rivals head to Unity, N.H., on Friday, a health adviser to the presumptive Democratic nominee is signaling that Obama's plan could eventually go in Clinton's direction.

"Senator Obama is willing to consider any sort of proposal that would bring together, not just the insurance industry but . . . the consumers themselves," said Obama adviser Dr. Kavita Patel.

Obama's surrogate made her comments Wednesday while representing him at a National Journal health-policy forum moderated by Ron Brownstein, the political director of Atlantic Media.

Patel's individual mandate remarks were made in response to an insurance industry leader suggesting at the same forum that insurers will oppose Obama's plan as currently structured. Insurers are worried that the Illinois Democrat has not tied an individual mandate to "guaranteed issue," the industry's term for requiring patients to be covered without regard to pre-existing conditions.

"We've had the conversation about . . . guaranteed issue," said Karen Ignagni, the president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans. "But we are prepared to have that conversation in the insurance industry if the politicians are ready to stand up and say we are going to get everyone in."

Ignagni's words are watched closely because the organization she heads emerged from the Health Insurance Association of America, sponsors of the "Harry and Louise" ads which played a critical role in killing Clinton's effort to reform health-care in the 1990s

Asked if Obama would be seen as reversing himself if he were to endorse an individual mandate after clashing with Clinton on the issue, Patel dismissed the concern.

"He has not said he is opposed to it," Patel told ABC News. "He has voiced his disagreement with having that be a part of his health-care plan last year. But he is not opposed to the idea itself." Patel added that the Obama campaign is in touch with former Clinton health-care advisers.

If Obama were to endorse an individual mandate, Ignagni's comments suggest that it would dramatically improve his chances of getting the insurance industry to accept his call for guaranteed issue.

Community rating, however, might still be a stumbling block.

Richard Kirsch, the head of "Health Care for America Now," told ABC News in a separate interview that the liberal coalition he leads would go along with an individual mandate only if the insurance industry accepts both guaranteed issue and a system of community rating in which there were no variations in premiums on the basis of age, gender, or pre-existing conditions.

Kirsch said his group would only accept premium variations on the basis of geography.

"We're not going to get the kind of change we need by playing footsie with the industry," said Kirsch. "If they are going to change their tune, great. But I think they are only going to change their tune if they are forced to do it."

Asked if insurers would support community rating if an individual mandate were in place, an industry spokesman said such a proposal requires further examination.

"That is not something that we have come out in support of at this time," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans.

UPDATE:

Concerned that some may view Dr. Kavita Patel's remarks as a sign that Barack Obama is shifting his stance on an individual mandate, a campaign spokesman told ABC News that the presumptive Democratic nominee "does not have plans to change his health care plan."

"Senator Obama does not have plans to change his health care plan, which will achieve universal coverage," Obama spokesman Bill Burton tells ABC News. "As he has consistently said throughout this campaign, he will bring together businesses, the medical community and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution to this issue."

Obama may gain politically in the short run by talking about the benefits of guaranteed issue without the burden of an individual mandate. No one wants to be required to purchase insurance that they may not be able to afford.

But close observers of reform efforts see an individual mandate as essential to making good on Obama's promise to end the insurance industry's "cherry picking" of healthy customers. If the uninsured are not required to purchase insurance while knowing that they are guaranteed access at a community-rated price, the insurance industry worries that the uninsured will only seek coverage once they become sick.

Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., gains the support of Sen. Obama, D-Ill., the man who beat her in the most closely contested and bitter Democratic primary in decades, and of a grateful Democratic Party establishment to pay off the $10 million debt she ran up during her unsuccessful presidential campaign.

Clinton will also retain and enhance her leadership role among Democrats in the Senate, a forum she has come to love and in which she has proven herself extremely able.

And her support on the campaign trail ensures Obama what he most needs: a strong, united Democratic base as he heads into the summer and fall campaigning season against Republican presidential standard-bearer Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Clinton proved herself an energetic and effective campaigner in her losing battle with Obama, especially with key core Democratic constituencies he must win to assure the presidency in November's election.

There was always much more wishful fantasy than fact in GOP claims that women were deserting Obama in significant numbers to back McCain instead. Recent polls consistently have shown a clear preference from female voters for Obama over McCain. But Clinton's new no-holds-barred commitment removes any doubts of that and should give Obama a boost he needs among middle-aged and older Hispanic voters, and among blue-collar, working-class male Democrats, who proved to be among Clinton's most loyal supporters in her race.

Obama may yet reward Clinton for her support with the vice presidential spot on his ticket. Even if he doesn't, she may have the option of a high-profile position in his administration if she wants it. Or she may elect to stay in the Senate: That would be another win-win proposition for her.

If Clinton stays in the Senate, she could play a leading role in crafting a raft of legislation on issues from Social Security reform to welfare in the next 111th Congress. If Obama wins the November election, he may well enjoy 60 percent-plus majorities in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. That would give Clinton, as one of the most high-profile and powerful senators on Capitol Hill, enormous clout in forming bills that could shape the United States for decades to come.

And if Obama wins but then fails to master the mountain of problems, from Iraq to the collapsing dollar and the soaring gasoline crisis, then Clinton will be perfectly positioned to either run against him or to seek the presidential nomination again in 2012 if Obama stands down. For she has now nailed down the crucial questions about her loyalty to the Democratic Party over her personal ambition.

The Democrats therefore face the fall campaigning season much more united than the Republicans. Hard-core conservatives still distrust McCain, and many have been adamant that they will stay at home and not vote for him. McCain continues to trend well ahead of his struggling congressional party in polls, but he will lack the traditional GOP advantage that Republicans fight presidential campaigns far more united and disciplined than the traditionally fractious Democrats do.

Obama has repeatedly shown political genius in his presidential campaign since sweeping the Iowa caucuses in January. In making his peace with Clinton and enlisting her to his side, he has done so yet again.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton have divided the Democratic Party by race, income and education, but there is no demographic indicator that sorts the Democratic vote as starkly as age.

If you voted in one of the Democratic primaries or caucuses, your age probably determined your vote: The older you are, the more likely you were to vote for Clinton, and the younger you are, the more likely you were to vote for Obama.

Part of this divide is easily explained, since Obama is younger, 46, and Clinton is 60. But, Obama has a particular appeal to young people such as Zahir Rahman, a sophomore at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

Identifying with Obama

"He's hip to our culture and seems to know where younger people are coming from," Rahman says. Then he explains Obama's appeal as "someone who's new, offers this idea of hope, of change, which really isn't attributed to either party or any of the other candidates who are running."

But that's not the only reason young people vote for Obama, says Cliff Zukin, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. Unlike their baby boomer parents, voters under 30 are incredibly tolerant.

"We have a woman candidate running against a black candidate for president," Zukin says. "If you had advanced that idea 25 years ago, people would have said that can't happen. And the young people today are so tolerant that they don't even think of that as an issue."

There have been "youth candidates" before in the Democratic Party, including Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern and Gary Hart. But this year, young voters are doing more than just getting excited about a candidate. They are actually turning out to vote.

Young Lean Democratic

In primaries and caucuses all over the country, voters under 30 have doubled and, in some places, tripled their turnout participation. Traditionally young voters have very low turnout, but now their participation nationally is reaching their share of the population. And the young voters who are turning out largely are Democrats, Zukin says.

"If young people come into politics and identify as Democrats, there's going to cause a sea change in politics," he says. "What we've seen with George W. Bush is that he has made Democrats out of young people the same way Ronald Reagan made Republicans out of young people."

People tend to form their partisan preferences in their 20s and stick with them, so this trend could be the beginning of a long-term political realignment. In the short term, if Obama is the nominee, age will be a big issue.

Underscoring McCain's Age

Obama is already teeing up a classic generational challenge to the presumptive Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain. On the campaign trail, Obama has said, "Now, I believe John McCain is a good man and a genuine American hero, and we honor his half-century of service to this nation."

The subtext of Obama's statement is that a half-century of service is a long time. Obama's message is simple: McCain is old. If he is elected, McCain will be the oldest president ever.

Sometimes McCain makes a joke out of his age.

At a Q-and-A with a group of newspaper editors, he was asked if he worried that voters might reject him because he will turn 72 by January 2009. McCain responded by pretending to nod off in his chair, to which the audience roared with laughter.

There will be a lot more talk about age, both funny and serious, if the general election match-up turns out to represent the biggest age difference in the history of American presidential campaigns.

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Michelle Obama yesterday praised her husband's former rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as Clinton hit the campaign trail for Barack Obama and lauded him for "his grit and his grace."

A day before Obama and Clinton were to appear together in tiny Unity, N.H., his wife campaigned with former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, who is running for the U.S. Senate. The Illinois senator's wife paid tribute to Clinton for working to get America to truly support working families.

"We are closer to this America than ever before, and that's because of an extraordinary woman who's not in this room, but she's traveling with my husband tomorrow, and that woman is Hillary Clinton," Obama said to sustained applause.

UNITY, New Hampshire (AFP) - Former White House foes Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton stood united in Unity Friday to bury their differences in public and urge Democrats of every faction to take back America.

The senators paid each other fulsome tribute at their first joint rally, in speeches that were heavy on the need for reconciliation and laced with humorous asides about their bruising fight for the Democratic nomination.

"I am proud to call her a friend and I know how much we need both Bill and Hillary Clinton as a party and as a country in the months and years to come," Obama told the crowd in the tiny, and aptly named, New Hampshire town of Unity.

"We need them, we need them badly -- not just my campaign, but the American people need their service and their vision and their wisdom," said the Illinois senator, 46.

"For 16 months, Senator Clinton and I have shared the stage as rivals for the nomination," he said after sharing a chartered flight from Washington to New Hampshire with the former first lady, 60.

"But today, I could not be happier, and more honored, and more moved that we're sharing this stage as allies to bring about the fundamental changes that this country so desperately needs."

While former president Bill Clinton has given only tepid backing to Obama, his wife upbraided any of her disaffected supporters who may be considering a vote for Republican John McCain in November's election.

Both the Clintons made a financial gesture of unity by each donating the maximum legal limit of 2,300 dollars to the Obama campaign, aides said, after Obama gave the same amount to help retire her whopping campaign debts.

Clinton drew laughs for remarking, with considerable understatement, that her bitter five-month primary fight with Obama had generated "spirited dialogue."

However, the New York senator said that from pulling out of the Iraq war to guaranteeing universal healthcare, the choice could not be starker.

"But in the end, after eight devastating years under President (George W.) Bush, Senator McCain is simply offering four years more," Clinton said.

"In the end, Senator McCain and President Bush are like two sides of the same coin, and it doesn't amount to a whole lot of change."

"But if you think we need a new course, a new agenda, then vote for Barack Obama and you will get the change that you and we need and deserve," she said to sustained applause from a crowd put by police at more than 4,000 people.

"And I know what we start here in this field in Unity will end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president," Clinton added.

But McCain supporter Jane Swift, a former acting governor for Massachusetts, muscled in to denounce Obama as all words.

The event in Unity "made me wish that Senator Obama had actually worked as hard to bridge the partisan divide in Washington DC during his short time there, as he is working hard apparently to bridge the divide in his own party with Hillary Clinton voters," she said.

The senators came to Unity, where each candidate scored exactly 107 votes in January's New Hampshire primary, after they attended a private meeting with Clinton's top fundraisers late Thursday in Washington's Mayflower Hotel.

At that event, Obama gave Clinton a personal check for 2,300 dollars to help his defeated rival pay off her campaign debt of 22.5 million dollars.

The Obama campaign meanwhile announced that it was adding Neera Tanden, Clinton's former campaign policy director, to serve as his domestic policy director.

But despite the public solidarity between Obama and Clinton -- which included a hug and a kiss on stage -- the wounds have not entirely healed.

Clinton supporter Carole Stone-Oks, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, said at the Unity rally that she was now backing McCain.

"A smart, cute boy does not a president make," she said scornfully of Obama. But if he chose Clinton to be his vice-presidential running-mate, she would vote Democratic "in a minute," she added.

The former first lady had her own message to those like Stone-Oks who still harbor resentment at their heroine's agonizing loss.

"I urge you to remember who we are standing for in this election," Clinton said, listing single mothers juggling work and college, the sick without healthcare and Iraq veterans struggling to gain access to benefits.

AFP, June 27, 2008

At first glance at a General Motors auto plant in Lordstown, Ohio, on Friday, McCain's push for fuel-efficient cars was not just about the cars, it was about the workers -- blue-collar voters.

They are the kind of voters who Clinton won in the Democratic primary and who McCain wants badly.

"The brunt of this incredible increase in oil is being borne by the lowest-income Americans. And that's not fair," McCain said.

In fact, Clinton came to the same plant before she beat Obama in Ohio, with the same message McCain is using against him now: empty words.

"Speeches don't fill up your tank or fill your prescription or do anything about that stack of bills that keeps you up at night," Clinton said in February.

On Friday, McCain told the audience that he thinks "we are able to attract some of Sen. Clinton's supporters, not so much because of any reason that they think that I may serve America best."

McCain advisers say that if they have any chance at winning battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, they need to lure Clinton supporters.

A Quinnipiac University Poll released June 18 shows that they are.

A large percentage of Clinton's Democratic primary voters in Ohio -- 25 percent -- say they'll vote for McCain. It's roughly the same in Pennsylvania.

But for McCain, that's not enough. He is trailing in both pivotal states.

Still, McCain needs to hold onto Clinton supporters leaning his way. It's not easy when she's telling them to vote Obama.

"We may have started on separate paths. ... Today, our hearts are set on the same destination for America ... to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States," Clinton said. "We are one party; we are one America."

So when a woman in a Hillary hat told McCain at the rally that there are lots of women who feel disenfranchised, McCain responded:

"May I say that all of us respect Sen. Clinton and the race that she ran. She inspired millions of Americans and millions of American women and women all over the world."

By Dana Bash, CNN, June 27, 2008

Campaign money is crucial in a presidential election. Where it comes from is not.

So Barack Obama made a simple, if disingenuous, decision when he chose to raise his own general election funds instead of run on limited federal financing. It's a trade-off: a June controversy that will fade while the money keeps coming until November.

Sen. John McCain, whose Republican campaign will start with a financial handicap, said it is a big, big deal. It is now, but it won't be for long. McCain surely knows that from experience. He tried to make a big deal of President Bush's decision in 2000 to spurn public financing and its limits in his primary campaign against the Arizona senator. It didn't work.

Nor could Republican Bob Dole sell the campaign finance issue against President Bill Clinton in 1996, despite anything-goes fundraising that included Lincoln Bedroom sleepovers for fat cat donors and illicit contributions that eventually had to be returned - after the election. "Where's the outrage?" Dole demanded. There wasn't any.

There's nothing improper about Obama's choice to become the first nominee since public financing began in 1976 to raise his own general election money. Each nominee is entitled to $84.1 million from the government under a 1974 finance reform law. It was supposed to squeeze excessive and questionable money out of presidential campaigns, since the nominees who take the money aren't entitled to spend any more. So they don't, directly. But indirect campaign spending by the political parties and unrestricted interest groups pours into the process.

In opting out, Obama said Republicans are masters at gaming the system and that millions of unlimited dollars from unreported sources would be spent against him. Based on past campaigns, he has a solid case on both counts - but not on his defense against the storm of criticism he knew was coming: that by financing his operation largely with small donations, he'll be the real reformer. Earlier, he had called his unprecedented small-donor fundraising "a parallel public financing system." No, not even with contributions his people say are averaging only $88 apiece. It is still private financing. He can't have it both ways. And he chose the money, perhaps $200 million or more for the general election campaign, instead of the limit that goes with public funds.

He also said the system he renounced was broken, something he apparently didn't notice when he made his conditional promises to work within it, in 2007 and again this spring. His first was in responding to a questionnaire from a Midwest reform group last year, answering yes, he'd go with public financing. He said that as the Democratic nominee he would "aggressively pursue" an agreement with his Republican opponent for public financing. At one point, he said he'd want to meet with McCain on the matter.

Neither happened before he opted for private financing on June 19.

That would erase the advantage McCain has in the Republican Party bankroll, about $54 million compared with only $4 million for the Democrats. It also would give him ample money to counter attacks by Republican activists like those who ran the TV campaign to tarnish Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam war record in the 2004 campaign. Kerry said he did not counter quickly or effectively enough to blunt those attacks. Obama expects to face similar tactics in this campaign, "millions and millions of dollars" that are not subject to limits or reporting requirements. To this point, independent spenders allied with the Democrats have been doing most of the spending.

Obama said during the primary campaign that he wanted to preserve public financing because future candidates might not be able to run on small donations as he has, and bypassing the reform system would affect campaigns to come.

It surely will, just as Bush's choice of private financing for his 2000 primary campaign effectively undid the system of public financing with attached spending limits for candidates seeking nominations. Candidates, notably billionaire Steve Forbes, had opted out before, but Bush was the first to win the nomination without using public money. That's been the pattern since. Neither Obama nor Sen. Hillary Clinton took public funds for the primaries. Nor did McCain, although he applied for the money back when his campaign was foundering and about broke.

The prospect of that money was a factor in his campaign's ability to get a $4 million bank loan to keep going. After his comeback, he withdrew from the public financing system in February. His campaign had not taken any public money and, therefore, said it was entitled to the switch.

The Federal Election Commission is the agency that is supposed to rule on such matters, but it is a tardy, toothless watchdog at best. This year it has been at its worst, because a political impasse has left it without enough commissioners to act on anything.

By Walter R. Mears, The Associated Press, June 24, 2008

It's not even close. Compare Hillary Clinton to all the names being floated for Barack Obama's running mate and the conclusion is beyond obvious Senator Obama, you are a very smart man which makes me confident you are ignoring the advice of the Washington chattering class who are strongly opposed to you putting Hillary Clinton on the ticket.

The chatterers are nice people but let's face it, most have never been involved in a campaign, know nothing about targeting, or persuadable voters, or analyzing polls beyond the match race and favorability ratings. They are people who harbor negative feelings towards Hillary Clinton formed years ago and who stubbornly ignore the evidence of her political maturation.

On the outside chance Senator you are listening to this uninformed conventional wisdom I offer the following rebuttal of the chatterers arguments and the case for choosing Clinton. For the record I did not support Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination.

* The chatterers insist she will be a drag on the ticket and bring the Republican base to the polls in huge numbers. If it is not obvious to the chatterers yet, they should pay closer attention the vicious anti Obama tirades by right wing bloggers and conservative talk radio show hosts. The Right will come to the polls all right...to vote against Barack Obama in droves with or without Hillary Clinton.

* A drag on the ticket. Please. Hillary Clinton immediately expands the electoral map putting states in play that are currently out of Obama's reach; West Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas. She helps move toss up states to leaning Democrat; New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada (if Obama breaks north of 60% of the Hispanic vote he wins all three, Clinton helps get him there). Clinton helps solidify weak Democratic states including Pennsylvania and Michigan; she can bolster Obama's lead in Ohio and probably makes Florida competitive which it is not currently. Any other VP candidate that can expand the map like this? Not even close.

* Chatterers insist Clinton will be a distraction to your campaign. Exactly what does that mean? That she will be on another page and therefore step on your message? Ridiculous. There is no more disciplined, on message politician in America than Hillary Clinton. But the argument raises a question; why would she want to step on the message? If the message doesn't succeed then you don't succeed, then Hillary doesn't succeed. Why would she want that?

* Then there are the Bill Clinton arguments including his refusal to release contributors to his foundation. Fine, get him to agree to release the information but insist Cindy McCain release all her financial holdings, her separate tax returns for seven years, the amount of money her companies have paid in lobbying and pr to promote the sale of alcohol, and every position she holds in every company in which she has a financial interest or is on the board of directors. I think you will find the McCain campaign less insistent on Bill's financial disclosure.

* The Clintons are likely to make gaffes on the campaign trial the chatterers insist. Hillary Clinton has just finished running in 54 contests and got better and better with each one. Name me one of the other VP choices who can come close to matching her campaign skills. Certainly Bill Clinton made some mistakes during the nominating campaign but mostly because he took attacks on his wife too personally. He is still the best campaign horse in the stable. With Hillary on the ticket he'll campaign daily, without her only occasionally. Set Bill Clinton free in Appalachia and watch the anti Obama votes go way down.

* If you are elected Senator, so the charge goes, the Clintons will be constant problems for you. Hillary will promote her own agenda and Bill will wander the West Wing subverting your presidency. Absurd. When you get sworn in as president your stature will dwarf the Clintons. You have the Oval Office, Air Force One, and loyalists staffing the White House that wouldn't listen to Bill Clinton unless you insisted on it. I'd be surprised if he was in the White House more than a few days each year.

* As for Hillary subverting you, see above. Her political future will be dependent on your success; therefore she has every interest in promoting your agenda. The alternative (without her on the ticket) is much more problematical. She will be a huge force in the Senate with her own base and agenda. Would you rather have her out of the tent on the Hill permoting her own ideas or in your tent promoting yours? Not even a close call.

*A few other benefits of Clinton on the ticket; no one will be a more effective attack dog against McCain and the Right than Hillary. She can take the heat and defend you (something you are increasingly forced to do yourself). Every attack on McCain by Clinton will get wide coverage. No one has had more experience than Hillary on taking the Right to the wood shed and beating them to a pulp. She becomes the lightening rod, you go back to change and hope. Can any other VP choice do that? Not even close.

* By putting Clinton on the ticket you marry up the best money and organizational operations in the history of the Democratic Party. It wasn't her national organization that screwed up it was her supposed brain trust. With her money people committed, a $400 million dollar budget is very doable. Does any other VP choice have an organizational and money base like that? Not even close.

* You will sit atop the most unified Democratic Convention since the advent of television. The picture of you and Hillary Clinton together is a nightmare for Republicans. The GOP operatives are yearning for you to pick anyone besides Clinton. You scare them, she scares them, together you are their worst nightmare.

* Finally, and maybe most important of all, McCain and the Right have only one hope of defeating you Senator, and that is to make you too naive and risky to be Commander in Chief. Your vice presidential choice must reek of experience. The argument against Clinton is she represents the past and hurts your change message. Sure the voters want change from what hasn't worked, but they embrace past success. Most voters recall the Clinton years (from a policy perspective at least) as successful. A message of change combined with a record of past success is a more comforting message than change alone. Can another VP candidate provide that level of comfort? Not even close.

Yesterday, Bill and Hillary Clinton even contributed $2,300 each to Obama's general election effort - a day after Obama and his wife, Michelle, chipped in the same amount to help Clinton pay off campaign debt.

Despite the show of unity, simmering resentments still remain, particularly among Clinton backers who want Obama to offer her the vice-presidential slot, or think she should have taken her fight to the convention floor.

Cornelia Lewis, 57, of Denver, was among a small but vocal contingent of Clinton volunteers who defied their candidate's call for unity. "I'm here to support Hillary. Myself and a lot of her supporters in Colorado are adamant in not going for Obama," Lewis said. "I will either not vote, or I will vote for John McCain."

Even with their best efforts, the former rivals didn't always appear entirely at ease. At one point a handful of Obama supporters began chanting his name, countered by a chorus of "Hill-a-ry!" Obama tried to defuse the tension by wagging a finger, like an orchestral conductor, and joining in the shouting on the Clinton side.

As he has done in recent days, Obama appealed directly to skeptics - as recent polls shown up to a quarter of former Clintonites considering voting for McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee.

"We've made history together. ... We've shattered barriers that have stood since the founding of this nation," Obama said. "Women can do anything the boys can do and better. ... And do it in heels."

The pair were friendly to each other in public, whispering to one another and sharing private jokes in full view of 100 TV cameras. They shared a two-hour bus ride from Manchester, pulling out their BlackBerries to compare features, swapped stories about weird foods they were served on overseas trips, and lamented the loss of their privacy, according to aides.

They flew to New Hampshire together on Clinton's campaign jet and sat together during the hourlong flight. But they arrived on the tarmac in Washington for the flight to New Hampshire in separate motorcades - and Clinton skipped the flight back to the capital to attend a graduation ceremony in New York.

Unity - which the former rivals split 107-107 during Clinton's January primary win in the state - was chosen more for its metaphoric meaning than its logistical suitability. Supporters were bused up hours beforehand and braved mosquitoes, 85-degree heat and a brief deluge that sent reporters scurrying just as Clinton and Obama left the stage.

"Unity doesn't exist," said Rick Holmes, 56, who biked 15 miles from nearby Newport to attend. "It's not a real town with a real population; it's just sort of a geographical center served by three different post offices. It was a ridiculous place to have this."

UNITY, N.H. - Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton came to this tiny town of Unity on Friday for their first public appearance after a bitter primary fight. Less certain was whether Unity would come to them.

"We had a spirited dialogue," acknowledged Mrs. Clinton, speaking first before a crowd of roughly 3,000, many laughing.

She was referring to the presidential nomination campaign, not the extended time the former rivals spent together Friday en route to the premiere of what the Obama campaign hopes will be a long-running buddy movie, at least through November. "That was the nicest way I could think of phrasing it," Mrs. Clinton added, to more laughter.

Unity was both the venue and the watchword of the heavily choreographed event, held on the grounds of an old elementary school, adjoined by fields of wildflowers. Event organizers were hoping to evoke the feel of a latter-day Woodstock - only with better weather, more portable toilets and no skinny-dipping. It was left to the main acts, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, to supply the peace and love.

"Unity is not only a beautiful place, as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Mrs. Clinton said while Mr. Obama sat on a stool, nodding in agreement.

A few minutes later, Mr. Obama said of his vanquished rival, "I know firsthand how good she is, how tough she is, how passionate she is, how committed she is."

Woodstock or no, Unity at least provided the ultimate festival for students of political body language. Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, and Mrs. Clinton appeared arm in arm, waving to a cheering crowd. U2's "Beautiful Day" blared over loudspeakers, sputtering out for a few nervous seconds before recovering. Mr. Obama's too-long blue tie went nicely with Mrs. Clinton's blue pantsuit.

Once on stage, Mr. Obama placed his hand on Mrs. Clinton's shoulder but stopped short of a full hug. There was minimal physical contact between the two throughout, though they shared a few close whispers, punctuated by laughter. He waved, she waved, often in opposite directions. There was no joint raising of hands. She smiled deferentially while he spoke, hands folded at her waist.

The Unity spirit was every bit in keeping with that of recent days. Mrs. Clinton returned Tuesday to the Senate and spoke of her commitment to campaign for Mr. Obama. The two held a joint fund-raiser in Washington on Thursday night, and later in the evening, Mr. Obama's ever-present "body man," Reggie Love, was seen dining in Georgetown with his Clinton counterpart, Huma Abedin, and two other people.

On Friday, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama arrived simultaneously at an airport in Washington, where they exchanged a kiss and smiled as they stepped onto a chartered plane. They chatted through the 70-minute flight, sitting side by side, and continued the conversation during a 60-minute bus ride to Unity.

As has been well chronicled, this remote town near the Vermont border was chosen not just for its Hollywood name, but also for the perfect split of votes cast in the New Hampshire primary - 107 for each candidate.

"Divine intervention," explained Jeanne Shaheen, a former New Hampshire governor and now a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate.

Less well known is that the town of Unity was nearly torn asunder by a land dispute in the 18th century. Then called Buckingham, it was rechristened Unity in 1764 after the conflict was resolved. Democrats were seeking a similar rapprochement Friday, and both principals were very much with the program.

"I hope you'll work as hard for Senator Obama as many of you did for me," Mrs. Clinton said, directing her remarks to her supporters, some of them with Hillary T-shirts and placards.

Mr. Obama said, "Hillary and I may have started with separate goals in this campaign, but we made history together."

He placed special emphasis on her groundbreaking campaign as a woman. She demonstrated that "women can do anything that the boys can do, and do it better, and do it in heels," he said.

"Hillary rocks," a woman shouted from the back, and Mr. Obama agreed ("she rocks, she rocks") and a chant of "Unity, Unity" went up from the back.

Not everyone received the unity memo, however. Carmella Lewis of Denver chanted "Hillary" while Mr. Obama spoke, smirked throughout his remarks and then stuffed her ears with scrunched-up tissue.

"I can't listen to him," Ms. Lewis said. "No way are we voting for Obama. We're all voting for McCain."

Asked if the town had ever seen such excitement, Tammy Dowd, board of selectmen secretary, mentioned something about Arlo Guthrie's having played nearby West Unity in 1979, but that was nothing like this.

The pleasantries between the candidates belied a litany of extenuating issues between them. Mrs. Clinton has asked a Washington power broker and lawyer, Robert B. Barnett, to help negotiate the talks, which include helping repay her campaign debt and securing a prominent spot at the party's summer convention. But the enmity of recent months was left behind Friday, at least by the former combatants on the stage.

"We have to make it a priority in our lives to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States," Mrs. Clinton told her supporters, including many who came with their own checks for Mr. Obama's campaign.

"This was a hard-fought campaign," she said. "That's what made it so exciting and intense and why people's passions ran so high on both sides. But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win back this White House."

Mr. Obama responded in a similar spirit. "For 16 months, Senator Clinton and I have shared the stage as rivals," he said. "But, today, I couldn't be happier and more honored and more moved that we're sharing this stage as allies."

He largely stuck to his standard stump speech, sprinkled heavily with "Hillarys" and "Unitys." "Thank you, Senator Hillary Clinton; thank you, New Hampshire," he said, and the candidates rejoined at the podium for more synchronized waving.

After a few seconds, Mrs. Clinton disappeared down some back steps, leaving Mr. Obama on stage by himself.

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who engaged in a fierce political competition for their party's presidential nomination, starred Friday in their first joint campaign appearance in the tiny hamlet of Unity, N.H.

The two senators, who engaged in a kiss, conversation, laughs and much-needed bonding time, left no doubt about the message they wanted to deliver to party loyalists Friday: We're in this together.

After their 15-month, tooth-and-nail struggle that split the party nearly 50-50, their show on Friday was so carefully coordinated that even their clothing matched: he in a sky-blue tie, she in a sky-blue blazer. Each candidate earned 107 votes in the town during the New Hampshire primary.

Backed by massive letters spelling out UNITY, both Clinton and Obama - in a departure from past appearances dominated by some sharp rhetorical elbows - delivered effusive praise of each other before a crowd that alternately chanted "Obama!" and "Hillary!"

"This was a hard-fought primary campaign ... we have gone toe-to-toe," Clinton said of Obama. "But today, and every day going forward, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder for the ideas we share, the values we cherish and the country we love."

She issued a warning to Clinton supporters threatening to withhold their votes - or vote for Republican candidate John McCain- now that her presidential bid has failed.

"I strongly urge you ... to remember who we are standing for in this election," including single mothers needing child care, veterans of the Iraq war needing health care and Americans strapped by high energy costs, she said.

She said those Democrats have a choice - move forward for change or stay with McCain, who she said would continue the policies of President Bush.

Obama, noting that he had campaigned for months against "this great lady ... and an historic candidate for president," said that thanks to Clinton, his own two daughters "can take for granted that they can do anything that the boys can do ... and do it in heels."

And in a signal that the presumed Democratic nominee aims to reach out to Bill Clinton, who publicly has been less than enthusiastic for the Illinois senator, Obama said, "I know how much we need both Bill and Hillary Clinton, as a party. ... We need them badly. Not just my campaign, but the American people."

In California, which Clinton won by nine percentage points, Republicans weren't impressed by the big show from Democrats.

"Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's show of unity rings hollow and is disingenuous - especially after months in which Hillary Clinton has shown that Barack Obama lacks the judgment and the experience to be commander in chief," said Hector Barajas, the spokesman for the California Republican Party. "Looks like we've got another example of change you can't believe in."

But Democratic loyalists, including those who passionately supported Clinton's candidacy, said the joint event signaled Democrats are on the right track.

"First you fall in love, then you fall in line - and then you sing Kumbaya," said Democratic strategist Chris Lehane, a former Clinton White House spokesman who supported her bid. "Obama is a tremendously compelling candidate ... and George W. Bush provides a particularly galvanizing force for Democrats to come together."

Peter Ragone, an adviser to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, joked that "today I'm humming ... 'We Are Family.' "

He said following the event, "as a person who went to several states to work for Hillary and has great pride in what she did, I am absolutely committed to getting Obama elected."

San Franciscan Susie Tompkins Buell, one of Clinton's most influential and generous supporters - she has continued to express deep concern about Clinton's treatment and Obama's candidacy - said the unity event showed Clinton "is really working hard to do what she needs to do. She's definitely going to work her heart out for him."

And Obama's new effort to raise money to retire her campaign debt is "a positive sign," said Tompkins Buell.

But Tompkins Buell, who recently founded a political action committee to support Clinton's historic campaign, stopped short of endorsing Obama, saying she is still "kind of keeping it open" as to whom she will support for president.

In the Obama camp, Wade Randlett, a Silicon Valley insider and longtime fundraiser and supporter for the senator, said he believes key supporters will come around and already the party has seen "a waterfall of movement in that direction."

Randlett himself is now writing a check to help Clinton out, saying, "if my candidate asks, that's what I'm here for - to be one of his supporters."

The event in Unity followed an appearance Thursday at a private fundraising meeting in Washington, where Obama addressed and reassured some of Clinton's top donors.

Obama urged his supporters and donors to write checks to Clinton and help her erase more than $20 million in campaign debts - and said he himself wrote a check for $4,600, the $2,300 maximum each for himself and his wife.

And the feeling was reciprocated: The Clintons, it was reported, have now written checks for the maximum donation to the Obama campaign.

By Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle, June 28, 2008

Changing Faces?

At the center of Obama's primary victory over Clinton was the idea that the only way real change could come to politics in Washington was if voters started sending different types of leaders to the nation's capitol.

Implicit in that message was that Obama wasn't running simply against George W. Bush but also against the Clinton years and the idea of having the same two families in the White House for the last two decades.

Time and again in exit polling during the protracted primary season, voters opted for the fresh-faced candidate promising to do things differently even if they believed that Clinton was the more experienced and better prepared to tackle the variety of challenges facing the country on the first day of her presidency.

Divide And (Not) Conquer

Clinton's strongest asset as a politician is her strength among the Democratic base -- particularly women. Her greatest weakness is her inability (or at least struggle) to broaden her appeal to independents and Republican-leaning voters.

One need only look as far as the washingtonpost.com's battleground surveys in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin for evidence of that divisiveness.

Asked whether Obama should pick Clinton as his running mate, no more than three in ten independents in any of the four states thought that would be a good idea. The numbers ranged from 25 percent in Michigan to 31 percent in Minnesota -- not exactly a ringing endorsement from crucial swing voters of the Dream Ticket.

In a follow-up question, independents in each of the four states were asked whether adding Clinton to the ticket would make them more or less likely to vote Democratic in the fall. In Colorado and Michigan, two of the swingiest states heading into the fall, roughly half as many independents said it would make them more likely to vote for Obama as said it would make them less likely to back the Illinois senator. The numbers were slightly more encouraging for Clinton in Wisconsin (17 percent more likely/22 percent less likely) and Minnesota (20 percent more likely/21 percent less likely) but still not the sort of polling data those pushing an Obama-Clinton ticket would like to see.

The simple fact is that recent polling suggests that independents will once again be the crucial voting bloc of the 2008 election. Obama's leads in each of the four battleground states polled by Quinnipiac for washingtonpost.com was built -- in large part -- on his edge among independents.

Picking Clinton could well jeopardize Obama's appeal to independents and allow McCain, whose maverick image and reform credentials make him a potentially appealing choice for unaffiliated voters, to step in and make his case.

A Co-Presidency

Installing your chief rival for the presidential nomination has potential and peril.

When John F. Kennedy picked Lyndon B. Johnson as his number two on the Democratic ticket in 1960, it was widely seen as a symbolically successful attempt to heal the party. But when Ronald Reagan named George H.W. Bush in 1980, it was regarded as a grudging -- and not altogether happy -- pairing.

Which would Obama-Clinton be?

During the primaries, Clinton expanded on what was already a large power base within the party -- becoming not only the favored candidate of women but also of Hispanics and lower income, blue collar workers in Rust Belt States like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

By putting Clinton on the ticket, would that ease Obama's courtship of these key groups for the general election? Probably. But, it's also likely that these groups -- as well as a significant chunk of the activist and donor community -- would be loyal to Clinton first, Obama second.

Such a phenomenon would essentially establish something close to a co-presidency from day one with Clinton and her backers pursuing an agenda that could well at times be at odds with the agenda the Obama camp wanted to push.

There is clearly real trepidation about this possibility among the Democratic party rank and file. In the four surveys conducted by Quinnipiac for washingtonpost.com, voters were asked whether they believed Clinton as vice president would be willing to "enthusiastically promote Barack Obama's agenda at the expense of her own ideas or not?." Fewer than six in ten Democrats (yes, DEMOCRATS) said they thought she would do so in Michigan (53 percent), Minnesota (57 percent) and Wisconsin (56 percent). In Minnesota, 60 percent of Democrats said Clinton would subjugate her ideas in favor of Obama's agenda.

That Democrats are that suspicious of Clinton's ability to play second fiddle should be rightly regarded by Obama allies as a warning of what the future might hold if their candidate decides to name Clinton.

The Bill Factor

There is no argument more quickly offered when discussing the cons of an Obama-Clinton ticket than the negative impact former President Bill Clinton might have on the ticket.

In the battleground surveys, more than 20 percent of Democrats and roughly four-in-ten independents said that the former president could be a "problem" for an Obama administration, a surprisingly large number given the former chief executive's sky-high approval ratings coming into the 2008 race.

Pressed on why Bill Clinton would be such a "problem," there is far less unanimity of opinion. Some suggest that his behavior in the primary -- angry, self-absorbed, controversial -- is an indicator of how he could push the ticket off message if his wife was vice president. Others point to the lukewarm endorsement of Obama offered by Clinton this week ("President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States," said spokesman Matt McKenna) as a sign that the former president remains bitter about the way in which the primary played out and would undermine Obama if his wife was the pick. And yet still others wonder about the impact his behavior out of office -- as detailed by Vanity fair's Todd Purdum - could have on the ticket.

Whether any of the above doubts are based on reality or, as often is the case with the Clintons, rumor and innuendo, is besides the point. Obama currently leads McCain in national polling, is advertising in 18 states including 14 won by Bush in 2004 and is likely to enjoy at least a two-to-one spending advantage over his Republican opponent in the fall. Given those advantages, why would he want to take the risk of putting the Clintons -- because that most assuredly would be what picking Hillary would mean -- on the ticket?

Agree? Disagree? What did we miss in making the case against Clinton?

By Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post, June 27, 2008

As Democrats move into the fall campaign, many are asking where Clinton fits into the new landscape.

Not Hillary Clinton, who just held a major "unity" event with Barack Obama and backed him with apparent enthusiasm. Rather, many of the questions now surround her husband Bill. Before this year, the former president was moving comfortably into a perch as an elder statesman, even if the old whiff of controversy never quite went away. But Bill Clinton received decidely mixed reviews this year as he careened across the political stage during his wife's recent campaign, and it's not clear where its end leaves him, especially since much of the commentary suggests he is sulking.

A striking feature of the past week was the difference in the Clintons' tones as each surfaced for the first time since Barack Obama claimed the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton was gracious and poised in her return to the Senate, as well as at the rally in Unity, N.H. Greeted emotionally by staffers and colleagues, she handled what must have been a tough moment with self-deprecation and humor.

In contrast, Bill Clinton's spokesman, not the president himself, issued a terse off-camera statement promising to work for Obama's election. "President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next President of the United States," spokesman Matt McKenna said. While sending--just barely--the necessary message, the statement felt to many as though it had been issued only because Clinton knew he had to say something.

It would not be surprising if the former president does feel resentful or wounded; the Democratic primary was not kind to him. He was criticized for making comments that some saw as racially tinged, such as comparing Obama's win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's. Clinton occasionally erupted in angry tirades, including slamming reporters in decidedly unpresidential ways, calling one a "scumbag." And the campaign saw an often-unflattering dissection of Clinton's business dealings since leaving office.

Beyond that, Clinton may resent that Obama has become what Clinton once was--a political wunderkind promising idealism and change. And in achieving this status, Obama sometimes seemed to dismiss the Clinton years, lumping his presidency with President Bush's as a period of divisiveness that the country needed to overcome. Obama has also presented himself as a post-Baby Boom figure, able to get beyond the drama and bitterness of Clinton's generation. In some ways, Obama, while often praising the Clinton years, ran against them.

So what is the former president's next role? The Obama campaign surely would like to use Clinton for what he does best--traveling the country to speak in small towns and stir up the Democratic faithful, using his folksy charm to win over the rural and working-class voters Obama has struggled to attract. But just as surely, the Obama camp is wary of Clinton's recent penchant for making controversial statements that overshadow the campaign's desired message. And Obama aides also know reporters will regularly ask Clinton about some of the harsher statements he made about Obama's campaign during the primary.

For what it's worth, it seems likely that after a reasonable interval for licking his wounds, Bill Clinton will do what he must to preserve his own future and that of his wife. For all his famous passions and appetites, Clinton also has a strong streak of discipline, or he could not have been twice elected president of the United States.

So he will most likely go back to his charitable work on issues like AIDS and Asian tsunami relief, continue burnishing his legacy, and campaign dutifully for Obama and other Democrats--all the while working to reclaim his position as a respected, if tempestuous, elder of the Democratic Party.

Then he'll be ready for whatever role presents itself, whether it be as President Obama's Middle East envoy or a reprise of his role as candidate spouse in 2012.

UNITY, N.H. (AP) - Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton stood side by side in this tiny New England outpost to provide the image many Democrats needed to see after their long, bruising primary battle.

And the former rivals both understand they need each other now. Friday's unity event was the first public step in meeting all those needs.

Obama publicly implored the New York senator and her husband, former President Clinton, for their help.

"We need them. We need them badly," Obama said. "Not just my campaign, but the American people need their service and their vision and their wisdom in the months and years to come because that's how we're going to bring about unity in the Democratic Party. And that's how we're going to bring about unity in America."

And he let her supporters know he appreciates her historic run bid to become the first female president.

"I know that ... because of the campaign that Hillary Clinton waged, my daughters and all of your daughters will forever know that there is no barrier to who they are and what they can be in the United States of America," Obama said.

Obama and his supporters also got what they needed to see: Clinton endorsing the Illinois senator without equivocation and imploring her loyalists to join his cause.

"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Sen. (John) McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider," said Clinton. "To accomplish the goals that we all care about and stand for is to take our passion, our energy, and our strength, and do everything we can to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States."

After worrying for months that the Clintons would be too narcissistic and power hungry to accept defeat with grace, Obama's backers had to acknowledge that she more than came through with her end of the bargain.

The former first lady needs to be an energetic team player to protect her own legacy. She cannot be seen as someone who stood in the way of a Democratic victory in November or of electing the first black president. Many Obama backers already blame Clinton for weakening Obama's candidacy by remaining in the primary race long after she had any hope of winning.

Bill Clinton must also guard his legacy by campaigning full-bore for Obama. But the former president was conspicuously absent from the Unity gathering, and friends say it could be awhile before he is ready to fully embrace Obama's candidacy.

The former first lady also needs Obama's help paying back her multimillion-dollar campaign debt, and he has promised to lend a hand.

In an important symbolic gesture, both Clintons contributed the maximum $2,300 apiece to Obama's campaign Friday. The announcement followed Obama's disclosure that he and his wife Michelle would give the same amount toward Clinton's debt retirement.

But there are still some touchy questions to resolve. Obama, famously averse to drama, still needs to determine how best to use the Democratic party's visible and complicated former first couple in the campaign.

Aides to the two former rivals said they are further along in mending fences than some of their supporters, especially Clinton's. An Associated Press-Yahoo News poll published Thursday showed Obama has over slightly more than half of the New York senator's former supporters, but about a quarter of her backers say they will support Republican McCain over Obama. Many of Clinton's voters also expressed concerns about Obama's lack of experience.

At a fundraiser where Clinton introduced her top donors to Obama Thursday night, Obama sidestepped questions about whether he would choose her as his running mate and whether he would countenance her name being place in nomination at the Democratic convention in August. Both questions portend controversy down the road.

Still, Friday was a day for Democrats to pledge a united front in the campaign against McCain. And it was a chance to remember the most historic presidential primary campaign in memory.

Since Clinton suspended her candidacy June 7, the early weeks of the general election contest between Obama and McCain have seemed conventional and small. The sniping between the two men over trade, terrorism, energy and campaign finance has not matched the sweep and drama of the contest between the first black presidential candidate with a real chance and the strongest female presidential contender.

Against the memory of the five-month primary contest, the former rivals' joint appearance felt unusually poignant. The dynamic between the two Democrats had changed since the last time they shared a stage.

They came dressed for unity, her pantsuit and his tie both shades of light blue. And after months of cool, steely standoff, they smiled, whispered jokes and awkwardly embraced.

"She rocks. She rocks," Obama said, as Clinton smiled quietly from the side of the stage. At the end, she quickly exited the stage and left Obama to soak in the glory alone.

By Beth Fouhy, The Associated Press, June 27, 2008

They came together in this hamlet where each won 107 votes in January's primary. Body language rivaled campaign rhetoric as attention-getter of the day. And a pair rendered distant by a marathon campaign acted like teammates, alternately exhorting the rank-and-file to put any recriminations behind them.

Clinton noted that they had stood "toe to toe" against each other in a primary season fight that began almost two years ago and declared the time has come to "stand shoulder to shoulder" against the GOP. They seemed equally determined to regain a White House that their party hasn't seen since her husband, President Clinton, left at the start of 2001.

"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Sen. (John) McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider," said Clinton, beseeching her supporters to join with Obama's "to create an unstoppable force for change we can all believe in."

In turn, Obama praised both Clinton and her husband as allies and pillars of the Democratic Party.

"We need them. We need them badly," Obama said. "Not just my campaign, but the American people need their service and their vision and their wisdom in the months and years to come because that's how we're going to bring about unity in the Democratic Party. And that's how we're going to bring about unity in America."

Moments earlier, the two snaked their way through some 6,000 people who gathered in a wide-open field and overflowed some bleacher seats in this town of 1,700.

Obama is seeking to become the country's first black president; Clinton had sought to become the first woman to win the White House.

The reunification of these campaign rivals wasn't without its awkward moments.

Despite the praise and smiles between the two, some in the crowd still sensed a space between them. Their embraces were slightly awkward, and Clinton stood with her hands clasped formally in front of her as Obama spoke.

Eileen Quill, a 64-year-old retired teacher from nearby Sunapee who had supported Clinton, said: "I think she's usually a wonderful public speaker, and so is he, but she looked a little stiff and the whole thing wasn't entirely comfortable."

Aides said the atmosphere on the bus from the airport to the rally was "festive," but said the two avoided talking about the campaign for the 90-minute ride. As they and their staffs ate a lunch of sandwiches and salads, Obama and Clinton made small talk, at one point commiserating and comparing stories about how difficult it is to live life under a microscope, as public figures do.

Friday's joint appearance capped a turbulent Democratic primary season and tense post-race transition as the two went from foes to friends - at least publicly. This was the most visible event in a series of gestures the two senators have made over the past week to heal the hard feelings - between themselves as well as among their backers.

"Unity is not only a beautiful place as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it? And I know when we start here in this field in Unity, we'll end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president," Clinton said from a podium as Obama sat next to her on a stool, coatless with his white shirt sleeves rolled up. She wore a powder blue pantsuit; he wore a light blue tie.

Wasting little time pressing Obama's case, Clinton noted that McCain and the GOP probably hoped she wouldn't join forces with Obama.

"But I've got news for them: We are one party; we are one America, and we are not going to rest until we take back our country and put it once again on the path to peace, prosperity and progress in the 21st century," Clinton said to cheers.

Echoing Obama's pitch, Clinton said McCain offered nothing more than a continuation of President Bush's policies.

"In the end, Sen. McCain and President Bush are like two sides of the same coin, and it doesn't amount to a whole lot of change," Clinton said. "If you think we need a new course, a new agenda, then vote for Barack Obama and you will get the change that you need and deserve."

"I've admired her as a leader, I've learned from her as a candidate. She rocks. She rocks. That's the point I'm trying to make," Obama added, responding to cheers from the crowd. "I know firsthand how good she is, how tough she is, how passionate she is, how committed she is the causes that brought all of us here today."

Each needs the other now.

It was no surprise when Barack Obama flipped on public financing last week. When it suited his goals last year, he pledged, "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election." When it didn't suit his goals, he ditched the pledge. And get this: Apparently he did it because the Republicans made him do it.

Obama has raised an impressive $296 million to date - dwarfing John McCain's $122 million. He stands to raise a lot of money - certainly more than the $84 million he would have received from the federal presidential public financing system - for the nine weeks following the Democratic convention. So forget "change we can believe in."

I cannot get as indignant as some critics seem to be. After all, public financing never was about reforming politics. It always was about helping Democrats get into the White House - which is why so many alleged reformers have not only accepted Obama's flip-flop, but praised it. Even the goo-goo Center for Responsive Politics Web site featured an opinion piece that suggested that the $1.2 million per day of public financing "just might not be enough" for a presidential candidate.

In a video e-mailed to supporters last week, Obama floated the argument that his huge war chest was akin to public financing because of all the $5, $10 and $20 checks his team has cashed. But, as the New York Times reported, Obama already "has collected more money in contributions of $1,000 or more than even Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-vaunted team of bundlers of donations." This week, Obama is trolling for big checks from Clinton fat cats.

Obama also claimed that he was opting out of public financing, even though he supports it, because "the system is broken." It's broken, you see, because right-leaning GOP 527s - independent groups that operate outside fundraising limits - will be used to "smear" Obama. After eight years of Democrat 527 smears against Republicans, it is kind of him to notice.

Team Obama set up fightthesmears.com ostensibly to fight misinformation. Site visitors are invited to send viral e-mail that charges, "Rush Limbaugh and his fellow right-wing attack dogs have been spreading baseless rumors about a nonexistent video tape showing Michelle Obama using a racial epithet." It was a vile, baseless rumor.

You could applaud Team Obama for setting the record straight, if it did not gloss over the starring role of Larry C. Johnson, identified simply as a "blogger," not a supporter of Hillary Clinton, as David Weigel reported in the American Prospect online. Instead, it targeted Limbaugh for saying "a tape exists of Michelle Obama using the word 'whitey' from the pulpit of Trinity United."

Thing is, Limbaugh stipulated, "There's a rumor that there's a tape" - two weeks after Johnson's first blog alleging that Republicans were hoarding a "whitey" tape. (Limbaugh should not have repeated the rumor, but he did so as many political editors and reporters were grappling over whether to report the unsubstantiated but widely trafficked Internet rumor, or just ignore it.)

Then, Obama pulled the race card. At a fundraiser - where else? - Obama told supporters that he had to turn down public financing so that he can raise enough money to fight GOP 527s. As the New York Times reported, he said, "They're going to try to make you afraid of me. 'He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?' "

Who does Obama think he is kidding? He has raised buckets of cash - but rather than be up front about opting out of public financing because of the math, he stooped to blaming other people for his decision to cash in. He also blamed the system and played the race card.

Which raises the question that may well have torpedoed Hillary Clinton's campaign: Does America really need another victim in the White House?

Even as Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton plan for their first joint appearance of the general election campaign on Friday, the New York senator is beginning a formal push to erase the substantial debt accrued during the primaries.

In an email to supporters this morning entitled "Keeping My Promise," Clinton reiterates her pledge to "keep fighting for what we believe in -- in the Senate and on the campaign trail, helping to elect a new Democratic president and a bigger Democratic majority in Congress."

In order to focus full time on doing that, however, Clinton asks her backers to pay down the more than $10 million in debts she carries to a variety of vendors and individuals involved in her presidential campaign.

"We put everything we had into winning this race, and we came just about as close as you can," Clinton writes. "I will never regret the energy, effort, and passion we put into one of the closest and most expensive primary contests in history. But I need your help to move on to the next phase of our journey together."

Clinton makes clear in the email that she is not asking her backers to help re-pay the more than $12 million she put of her own money into the contest. "I had to loan money to my campaign at critical moments," writes Clinton. "I'm not asking for anyone's help to pay that back. That was my investment and my commitment because I believe so deeply in our cause."

Clinton's email comes less than 24 hours after it was revealed that Obama made clear to his major financial backers that he'd like them to "do what they could do" to make his one-time rival's debt disappear.

Obama had begun to draw some flack from party insiders for not encouraging his donors to give to Clinton sooner; he had already sent out fundraising emails on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee prior to his pitch last night on Clinton's behalf.

Zeroing out Clinton's debt is one of the most literal ways that Clinton and Obama can put the lingering bad memories of their protracted primary fight behind them. If Clinton has no primary debt hanging over her head, she is freed -- from a logistical standpoint -- to spend her time in the coming months campaigning for Obama as well as other Democratic downballot candidates.

Healing the rift between Clinton and Obama is a complicated matter that must be handled on both the practical and symbolic levels.

The symbolic march to unity continued this morning when Clinton addressed House Democrats on her second day back on Capitol Hill following her departure from the race earlier this month.

"This was a verydifficult campaign, let's be honest," Clinton told her House colleagues, according to someone in the room. "It caused some heartburn...but we are a family; we are the Democratic Party and we are on the same team. So let's go out and win in November."

Words like that -- plus an influx of donations from prominent Obama backers to Clinton's debt retirement efforts -- are the stones on which the path to real reconciliation is built.

By Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post, June 25, 2008

In his self-serving retreat from the spending restraints of public financing, Senator Barack Obama hailed his formidable Internet army of small donors as "a new kind of politics." Maybe so. But just in case, the senator is not about to neglect the old politics of special-interest money bundlers in his presidential campaign.

Senator Obama is scheduled to meet Thursday with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her platinum card money raisers. One group specialized in amassing $250,000 packages for the campaign, while another excelled at hitting $1 million jackpots.

Now that Mr. Obama has forsworn the public spending limits that he initially pledged to defend, campaign aides have great expectations for Mrs. Clinton's bundlers. If Mr. Obama woos and wows them, his aides hope they can generate an extra $75 million in private donations for the Obama campaign in coming weeks.

In Vegas, that's called covering the board - continuing to work the 1.5 million small-bet donors who helped Mr. Obama set grass-roots records, while attending to the political high rollers, too.

Senator Clinton has her own practical interests for this meeting. Mr. Obama is offering to help her with the $22 million she owes after her campaign went bust.

In real-world politics, none of this is a surprise. But in ideal politics - the realm Mr. Obama often purports to speak for - the meeting could mean another coffin nail for public financing. Senator Obama should at least pledge to make the updating of the public subsidy system a top priority of his first year in the White House.

Senator John McCain - who is also vying for the mantle of reformer in chief - is opting for the public subsidies that begin after the conventions. In the meantime, he is relying on his own flock of special-interest bundlers to raise all the private funds he can.

The voters should not be fooled. They must demand that both candidates explain how they will reform the campaign-finance system so no future candidate has any excuse for going into hock to the bundlers and their special-interest donors.

WASHINGTON -- If everything goes according to the campaign's plan, Barack Obama should win all of the states John Kerry carried in 2004, plus a few that haven't been seriously challenged by a Democratic candidate in years.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe dissected the electoral map in front of about 80 reporters yesterday at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, explaining the multiple routes to victory the campaign has plotted in its race for the presidency against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

"We are going to have a lot of states in play," Plouffe said. "And we have a lot of different paths to get 270 [electoral votes]."

As Plouffe describes it, the much-discussed "50 State Strategy" is pretty close to being just that. While he admitted that only a few staffers will be placed in some states -- one of them likely being Utah, one of the most conservative states in the country -- Plouffe said that in some states unlikely to vote for Obama, such as Texas, there are "tens of thousands of people who want to help" in some way, like working at phone banks. "The reality is we've got a lot of volunteers in these states," Plouffe said, "and we want a productive way to use them."

Five states -- Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota -- have voted Democratic just three times in the last 20 presidential elections, from 1928 to 2004, and all five did so the same years -- 1932, 1936 and 1964, all Democratic landslides. This is a prime example of where the 50 State Strategy comes in, as the campaign has already begun airing television ads in North Dakota and Indiana. Plouffe said North Dakota is "very close right now," and that Indiana is "absolutely competitive" because of its close proximity to Obama's home state of Illinois and the fact that McCain has little or no campaign presence there.

Other than the states considered safely in the Democratic column, the campaign views four states that Kerry won as currently leaning in Obama's favor: Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Maine. However, they are not worried enough about these states to begin advertising there yet, as they feel they have big advantages there.

There are 18 states the Obama campaign views as "battleground states," totaling 199 electoral votes. Four are states Kerry won -- Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan -- while the remaining Bush states are ones the campaign feels are winnable if certain things fall into place.

Two of these states include Alaska and Georgia, where Plouffe said Libertarian candidate Bob Barr could win as much as 8 percent of the votes, mostly coming out of McCain's pool of voters. In Georgia, which Barr represented in Congress, Plouffe said the goal is to get 49 percent. "We think we can," he said, but added they would need an "ideal electorate to get there." Their aim, he said, "is to have a historically high African American turnout." In Alaska, Plouffe said they have a "fantastic organization," while McCain "doesn't have anything."

In Iowa, which before 2004 voted Democratic four straight times, the campaign feels that the months it spent there leading up to the January 3 primary has benefited Obama greatly. If Obama wins Iowa, as well as the Kerry states, he would need to win only North Carolina or Virginia, and "it's game, set, match," as Plouffe said. He noted that in those two states there are many unregistered blacks and young professionals that the campaign will target in its voter registration drives. These two states combined have only voted Democratic once since 1964 -- North Carolina in 1976 -- but the campaign expects to compete in both, evidenced by Obama kicking off his general election campaign in Virginia.

This scenario precludes the need to win Ohio or Florida to get to 270 votes, though Plouffe made sure to note the campaign would be devoting incredible attention to these states.

The campaign's strategy is based on three top priorities: voter registration, helping down ballot Democrats get elected and building a grassroots organization in every state. In what Plouffe called their "persuasion army," the campaign aims to get grassroots volunteers in every community -- people who are "like them, talk like them" -- to drive up support in a way TV advertising and direct mail are not able to do.

Obama currently is airing a biographical TV ad in eighteen states, including states like Indiana and North Dakota, as noted earlier, that are not states other Democratic nominees would likely compete in. The strategy, Plouffe said, "is centered on Senator Obama's appeal," followed by having the organization needed to speak with every swing voter. "We have the organization and financial capacity to compete" in these places, Plouffe said.

Standing in the way, of course, is McCain, who Plouffe said "is the one person they could have nominated that is strong with independents," and because of that the election is very close. However, "as they learn the fissures in this election," Plouffe said, "we think the independents will move in the right direction."

Along with independents, the campaign is targeting the support of Hispanics and suburban women, two demographic groups that both Kerry and Al Gore won in the last two elections. Hillary Clinton's presence on the campaign trail should help. Asked how and where the campaign plans to include her, Plouffe said they will take "as much time as she can give us."

As part of its 50 State Strategy to win the necessary 270 electoral votes, the campaign is sure to tie McCain to a President that is struggling with a job approval rating in the high 20's/low 30's. Plouffe said McCain could be in trouble when voters in battleground states "find out he wants to keep the Bush economic policies, pretty much down the line. ... In this climate, he's going to pay a price for that."

In her first public event since losing the Democratic primary, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton attacked the healthcare plan proposed by Sen. John McCain, and promised she would continue to fight for healthcare reform.

"It is absolutely unbelievable that the healthcare plan he has proposed would cause millions of hardworking Americans to lose the coverage they already have," Clinton said during a speech to the American Nurses Association convention in Washington, DC on Thursday. "So what ever issue you care about, what ever your passion may be, we have to join together and present a united front."

Hundreds of nurses cheered Clinton and held "Hillary for President" signs and wore "Hillary" pins.

During the primary campaign Clinton proposed mandated universal healthcare coverage for all Americans, and bashed then-rival Sen. Barack Obama's plan to create a national health insurance program for those who do not have employer-provided health, and mandate coverage for children. McCain has proposed "market-based solutions" to move away from employer-based coverage to insurance bought by individuals.

Clinton said many nurses came to her presidential campaign events. "Time and time again I expressed my appreciation to our nurses," she said. "While you and those you represent are working hard for us I don't think we in Washington are working nearly hard enough for you."

The former first lady called on the group that had originally endorsed her "to do everything you can to help elect Barack Obama." The ANA has not officially endorsed Obama.

"I have seen his passion and determination and his grip and his grace, and in his own life he has lived the American dream," she said of Obama.

Clinton will be campaigning with the presumptive Democratic nominee Friday in Unity, New Hampshire, a town name she called "very appropriate."

"It is so remarkable and I am very proud of the Democratic Party and I'm very proud of my country that an African American and a woman were competing," she said.

The New York senator promised the group she would continue to be an advocate for healthcare reform.

"I've been actively involved in America's politics in one way or another for, I'd hate to confess, 40 years. Please, call out ask me how old I am?"

"We have to make it a priority in our lives to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States,'' Clinton, a New York senator, told a crowd of about 200 in Washington last night. "We are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win back this White House.''

Obama, an Illinois senator, offered praise for Clinton at the same meeting, saying it was "an extraordinary honor'' to compete with her. He and his finance chief Penny Pritzker also made the symbolic gesture of writing personal checks for the maximum amount allowed by law to help Clinton retire campaign debt.

The session with Clinton's fundraisers kicked off a two-day show of unity for the two Democrats who battled for 16 months, each winning millions of votes. Obama clinched the nomination on June 3, and Clinton soon after pledged to support him.

Clinton and Obama today will travel to Unity, New Hampshire, for their first joint campaign appearance. Clinton won the state's primary in January in a close race, and each candidate received 107 votes in the town, Obama's campaign said.

'As Much as She Can'

"I want her campaigning as much as she can,'' Obama told reporters in Chicago on June 25. "I think we'll have a terrific time together in New Hampshire, and I think that she will be very effective all the way through November.''

Clinton, 60, may be particularly helpful for Obama, 46, in states she won, such as Pennsylvania, and with groups of voters that flocked to her, including women, Hispanics and blue-collar workers. Her presence in the race offered a critical challenge, Obama told Clinton's supporters last night in Washington.

"It was an extraordinary test,'' Obama said. "I am a better candidate as a consequence of having run against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.''

The Obama campaign only allowed one reporter into the meeting last night at Washington's Mayflower Hotel, and she compiled a "pool report'' for all media outlets to share with comments from the two senators. Attendees at the meeting included former Democratic National Committee finance chair Maureen White, former Clinton Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe.

Personal Checks

Obama and his wife Michelle each donated $2,300 to Clinton's debt relief last night, Obama campaign spokesman Ban LaBolt said. Pritzker did the same for she and her husband. "We're helping,'' Pritzker said on her way into the ballroom, according to the pool report. "It's important.''

Clinton finished May with more than $20 million in debt, including $12.2 million in loans she gave to her campaign. She is asking supporters to help cover the portion of the debt owed to others; Obama said he's asking the same of his top donors.

"What I said was, to my large donors who are in a position to write large checks, to help Senator Clinton retire her debt, or at least a portion of it,'' Obama said on June 25. "And I think they're going to be those who are willing to do so.''

He said he won't be sending out an appeal to donors with tighter budgets, who gave $5 or $15 to him. "Frankly, it probably wouldn't be that effective in terms of making a big dent in Senator Clinton's debt,'' Obama said.

Obama will take on Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, in the November election.

By Kristin Jensen, Bloomberg, June 27, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama announced Thursday that he will help pay off Hillary Rodham Clinton's more than $20 million debt, personally writing a check in a gesture meant to win over her top financial backers.

Obama met with more than 200 of Clinton's biggest fundraisers at Washington's Mayflower Hotel, the first step in a two-day push to bring her supporters onboard his general election campaign. Behind the scenes, the two sides were negotiating her future involvement with the campaign.

Some Clinton donors had been frustrated that the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting had not done more to help her pay the bills even as they are expected to help fund his campaign.

Obama received a standing ovation from the crowd of more than 200 when he said he would enlist his supporters to help pay off her debt.

"I'm going to need Hillary by my side campaigning during his election, and I'm going to need all of you,'' Obama said, according to a report written by the only reporter allowed into the event and shared with other reporters afterward. He recounted how he had told his top fundraisers this week "to get out their checkbooks and start working to make sure Senator Clinton - the debt that's out there needs to be taken care of.''

In a symbolic gesture, Obama delivered a personal check for $4,600, for himself and his wife, Michelle. The maximum individual donation allowed by law is $2,300.

Obama finance chair Penny Pritzker also wrote a $4,600 check for herself and her husband. Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe had it in his pocket and showed it to reporters waiting outside.

Clinton's debt includes $12 million of her own money. She has said she is not asking for help paying that back.

She told her donors they must make electing Obama a priority, as she acknowledged that hard feelings remain on both sides.

"This was a hard-fought campaign,'' the former first lady said. "That's what made it so exciting and intense and why people's passions ran so high on both sides. I know my supporters have extremely strong feelings, and I know Barack's do as well. But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to try to win back this White House.''

Obama asked the donors for their support, but recognized their hearts may remain with her.

"I do not expect that passion to be transferred,'' he said. "Senator Clinton is unique, and your relationships with her are unique.''

But he added, "Senator Clinton and I at our core agree deeply that this country needs to change.''

Clinton and Obama plan to appear together publicly for the first time since the end of the primary on Friday in symbolic Unity, N.H. - where each got 107 votes in the state's January primary. Clinton won New Hampshire in an upset that set the stage for their long campaign, and it is now a critical battleground for the general election.

Obama told reporters Wednesday that he thinks she'll be extraordinarily effective in speaking for his candidacy and he'd like her to campaign for him as much as she can. "I think we can send Senator Clinton anywhere and she'll be effective,'' Obama said.

But the extent of her travel for Obama is unclear. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Wednesday that they have not scheduled any events after New Hampshire. "We don't have any specific knowledge of her schedule past Friday,'' Plouffe said.

Three Clinton confidants - Cheryl Mills, Minyon Moore and Robert Barnett - are in talks with Obama's campaign to work out details of her future involvement, including travel, her role at the national convention and resolution of her debt. Part of their argument has been that Clinton can spend more time helping Obama if she isn't raising money to pay her bills.

Obama told reporters Wednesday he wouldn't send an e-mail asking his small-dollar contributors to donate to Clinton because "their budgets are tighter'' and they probably couldn't make much of a dent.

One of the biggest outstanding questions is Bill Clinton's role. The former president issued a one-word statement through a spokesman Tuesday offering to help, but the two men have not yet spoken.

McAuliffe said he spent Monday with the former president, who said "he will do whatever is needed.''

"He will go 24/7 if he has to,'' McAuliffe said. "He's willing to do whatever it takes. Winning the White House is of paramount importance, not only to Hillary but of course to President Clinton.''

An Associated Press-Yahoo News poll out Thursday shows Obama has won over slightly more than half of Clinton's former supporters. About a quarter of Clinton's backers say they will support McCain over Obama.

Obama ended Thursday's meeting by taking a few questions from the group, according to attendees. He didn't answer a question about whether he would support putting Clinton's name in for a roll call vote at the convention, but promised she would play a prominent role in Denver.

He also sidestepped a question about whether she would join him on the ticket.

He was asked about "misogyny'' in the campaign and said his wife, Michelle, was now experiencing it and that he was sensitive to it, attendees said. He said his 86-year-old grandmother had been very inspired by Clinton's historic run and that his daughters now don't think it's a big deal for a woman to be president.

Bernard Schwartz, a New York businessman and longtime Clinton donor, said Obama won his support.

"You know how it is when somebody says to you, I'll never forget my first love? Hillary was my first love, there's no question about that,'' Schwartz said as he left the meeting. "Am I going to be passionate for Obama, and can I say right now that I'm passionately supportive of Obama and passionately wish him to win? Absolutely without any equivocation.''

Hannah Simone, a Washington energy lobbyist and top Clinton donor, said she entered the meeting undecided but is now ready to help. She can't donate herself because Obama does not accept lobbyists' money, but she said she'll start raising from others.

"It was a big step forward for some of us who were very passionate about her campaign,'' she said.

But some attendees left feeling that Obama didn't go much beyond his standard talking points, and could have done more to win over her supporters. They declined to quoted by name.

By NEDRA PICKLER and SARA KUGLER, Associated Press, June 27, 2008

WASHINGTON - Senator Barack Obama said Thursday that he had written a personal check of $2,300 to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a goodwill gesture intended to nudge his top donors to help ease Mrs. Clinton's debt and help the two Democrats move beyond their rivalry to focus on the fall campaign.

"I wrote my check to the Hillary for President committee," said Mr. Obama, who was greeted with booming applause from some of Mrs. Clinton's top supporters. Michelle Obama also contributed $2,300.

In a ballroom at the Mayflower hotel here, Mrs. Clinton introduced Mr. Obama to about 300 of her leading contributors, most of whom raised at least $100,000 for her campaign. It was the first time the senators shared a stage since she suspended her candidacy and endorsed him nearly three weeks ago.

The invitation-only gathering came on the eve of a joint appearance, with Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton set to arrive on Friday afternoon in the small town of Unity, N.H. to appear before television cameras in a carefully-crafted rollout of their renewed friendship and newfound partnership. Mrs. Clinton vowed to help Mr. Obama defeat Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

"Time is always a great healer," Vernon Jordan, a longtime friend of the Clintons, said in an interview as he left the event, which he described as a cordial affair. "There's only one issue: winning."

Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton arrived separately and entered through a side door of the hotel, a few blocks from the White House, bypassing a half-dozen protestors positioned by the front of entrance who held signs urging Mr. Obama to consider Mrs. Clinton as his running mate and to help retire her campaign debt. His top political advisers were on hand, mingling and chatting with Mrs. Clinton's contributors.

In her public remarks, Mrs. Clinton asked of nothing from her former rival and pledged her full support.

"I am asking you to do everything you can to help elect Barack Obama," Mrs. Clinton told a group of nurses before arriving at the evening event. "I have debated him in more debates than I can remember and I have seen his passion and his determination and his grit and his grace. In his own life he has lived the American dream."

Terry McAuliffe, the campaign chairman for Mrs. Clinton, said it was time to get her contributors "fired up for the general election." As Mr. McAuliffe walked through the hotel's stately lobby, he was greeted by several Clinton supporters who embraced him and spoke longingly about Mrs. Clinton's candidacy.

"This is unity. Bringing together these folks is a good piece of that," Mr. McAuliffe said. "It was a great race. She got 18 million votes and she realizes what was accomplished. No one likes to lose, but you know what? She's moved on."

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama has won over more than half of Hillary Rodham Clinton's former supporters, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll that finds party loyalty trumping hard feelings less than three weeks after their bruising Democratic presidential contest ended.

The poll suggests time is beginning to heal some rifts from the primary campaign and that the New York senator's endorsement of Obama carried weight. The poll was taken in the days after Clinton suspended her campaign and said she was supporting her rival.

Obama's progress with Clinton supporters is marked, yet far from complete. More than one in five who had backed the New York senator now plan to support Republican John McCain in the fall, a boost for McCain if those opinions hold.

"We still have work to do," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters in a strategy briefing. "Democrats are consolidating behind the nominee as the choice in the election is more clear and as the contest fades. Time is our friend here."

"I want her campaigning as much as she can," Obama told reporters Wednesday. "She was a terrific campaigner. She, I think, inspired millions of people, and so she can be an extraordinarily effective surrogate for me and the values and ideals we share as Democrats."

The Obama campaign also has encouraged supporters to host "United for Change" house meetings with supporters of Clinton and other candidates on Saturday. The campaign says over 3,000 are being planned across all 50 states.

The AP-Yahoo! News poll, conducted by Knowledge Networks, is part of an ongoing study that tracks the attitudes and opinions of a scientifically selected group of more than 2,000 Americans to see how their political views evolve over the course of the campaign.

The poll found 53 percent of the Democrats who favored Clinton for the nomination two months ago now back Obama for president. That's an improvement from April, when only 40 percent of Clinton supporters said they would back Obama over McCain.

"It wasn't a difficult decision� I was a lifelong Democrat," said 55-year-old Susan Gates of Massachusetts, a former Clinton backer now firmly in Obama's camp.

Gregory Scheetz, 56, of Barstow, Calif., said he wanted Clinton to win because of her experience, her intelligence and because it's time to have a woman in the White House. But he said he moved to Obama after Clinton endorsed him on June 7, even though he's a registered Republican.

"I feel that he can bring change," he said. "There's people in our country that I see need help. They're slow about getting it, and it just seems that Republicans are taking a different direction."

Twenty-three percent of Clinton's backers picked Republican John McCain over Obama. Of the rest, 16 percent were undecided, 5 percent were for independent candidate Ralph Nader and 3 percent said someone else.

The poll suggests the Clinton supporters are wary that he has enough experience to be president. Just 25 percent describe him as experienced, and that drops to 5 percent among those former Clinton backers who are not supporting Obama.

The poll responses also show Obama has more work to do to quell fears among voters like Kirstie Hartle of Rome, N.Y., a registered Democrat who has never supported a Republican presidential candidate. With Clinton out of the race, Hartle said, "I'm Republican all the way now."

She said she doesn't like Obama's name and thinks he has a questionable background. She also said she thought Obama was deceitful when he broke from his church after it hurt his campaign, and she doesn't trust him to handle the Iraq war.

"It sounds to me like a Middle Eastern type of name and whether or not he's born here in the United States, he doesn't seem like, to me, somebody who is trustworthy," Hartle said in a telephone interview. "You can't trust anybody these days, so who's to say he's not a terrorist and we just don't realize it yet?"

When asked an open-ended question about the first words that come to mind about Obama, some former Clinton supporters used words like Muslim or terrorist. Those misconceptions have been fueled by Internet rumors that point out his name is Barack Hussein Obama but otherwise lie about his background.

"I refuse to vote for an Arab to be in my White House," said retired salesman Dean Johnson of Lanett, Ala. "That is the only factor. Otherwise, you couldn't break both my legs and make me vote for a Republican."

The Obama campaign has been addressing the rumors with fliers distributed at churches, a fact-checking Web site and a television ad about his American roots. Obama is a Christian who was born and raised in the United States. His father was from Kenya, but left when Obama was a toddler and he was brought up by his American mother and grandparents in Hawaii.

Sixty-year-old Ann Burkes of Broken Arrow, Okla., said she has a "gut feeling" that she doesn't trust Obama and is leaning toward McCain because he is more experienced. But she said all that would change if Obama picked Clinton as a running mate.

"If he chose her, I would be back in a heartbeat," Burkes said.

The poll found that choosing Clinton as No. 2 would appear to be a wash for Obama's candidacy. Overall, 28 percent said they would be more likely to vote for the Democratic ticket if Clinton were the nominee, 25 percent said they would be more likely to vote for the Republican ticket if Clinton were the nominee, and 47 percent said it wouldn't make much difference.

It would help more among former Clinton Democrats, with 68 percent saying they would be more likely to vote for the ticket if Clinton were on it.

Former Clinton supporter Jeannie Azzopardi of Ashland, Ore., said she would love for Obama to pick Clinton but she doesn't expect him to and will support him either way.

"I seriously doubt that everyone who supported Hillary Clinton would vote for McCain," she said. McCain is "in direct, direct opposition to everything she stands for."

An analysis of Clinton supporters who are backing McCain shows they are more liberal than the Arizona senator on the issues. The majority favor removing troops from Iraq as soon as possible, a single-payer health care system funded by taxpayers and repeal of Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy.

The AP-Yahoo! News survey of 1,759 adults had an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. Included were interviews with 844 Democrats, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.4 points, and 637 Republicans, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 points.

The poll was conducted over the Internet after pollsters initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods, following up with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.

UNITY, New Hampshire (AFP) - Senator Hillary Clinton was reaching out with a show of unity in Unity, bestowing a warm endorsement on her Democratic rival, now the party's presumptive White House hope, Barack Obama.

The former primary adversaries were to hold a "Unite for Change" rally Friday at a school in the aptly named community, where each candidate got exactly 107 votes in New Hampshire's January primary.

On the eve of the rally set in Unity's rolling, verdant hills, Clinton addressed Hispanic leaders in Washington to thank her supporters for their "passion and determination."

"But every issue you care about personally ... is really at risk. We cannot afford four more years of the same," the New York senator said.

"And therefore we have to be determined to chart a new course, and we cannot do that without electing Senator Obama our president," she said to a standing ovation.

The higher forms of political calculation at play in the Clinton-Obama tango, including what role she will take in his campaign and what help he will extend to repaying her debts, were not preoccupying Unity folks.

"It's kind of exciting, because we've never had anything like this before," town treasurer Mary Hall told AFP.

She wore a T-shirt reading "Unity: The Biggest Little Town in New Hampshire" and listed the town's population at 1,100 -- although the 2000 census placed it at 1,535.

"That's if you include all the cows," her husband Ken said,

Clinton won the New Hampshire primary, after a moist-eyed moment in a coffee shop, to come back after Obama's early January victory in the Iowa caucuses. This set in train five months of coast-to-coast battles that ended with Obama only just ahead.

According to Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe, explaining the choice of the New Hampshire venue, the two Democrats split their vote totals in several other US towns.

"But none were called Unity," he said.

The former first lady had kept a low profile since conceding the Democratic nominating contest to Obama on June 7, after a bitter campaign that split Democratic loyalties down the middle.

In Washington Obama dug deep into his own pocket late Thursday to help out Clinton as the pair met with her top fundraisers as part of an emotional unity drive.

Obama gave Clinton a personal check for the legal maximum of 2,300 dollars, aides said, to help towards canceling campaign debts of 22.5 million dollars racked up in her ultimately doomed bid for the White House nomination.

Introducing Obama to more than 200 of her leading money people, Clinton lamented that the Democrats had won only three of the past 10 presidential elections.

"That is a sobering thought," she said. "For me this is intensely personal, because I want to see our country once again not just solving problems... but lifting up our sights and finding the promise of our country.

"We have to make it a priority in our lives to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States," the New York senator said, to sustained applause.

The Arizona senator meanwhile played spoiler by announcing a new group called "New Hampshire Democrats for McCain," led by two state party luminaries who say Obama is too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief.

In the parking lot of Will's Place, a Unity convenience store that advertises "worms and crawlers" for fishermen, Bucky Demers showed off his 2008 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, adorned with "Obama '08" stickers.

The Cornish, New Hampshire resident has been a professional race-car driver for 22 years, but had never been involved with any political campaigns until he saw Obama speak on television.

"I would travel to half a dozen tracks around New England for him," Demers said.

Further south on the turnpike lies Unity Elementary School, the site of Friday's rally.

The school year ended just a week ago, and principal Maynard "Chip" Baldwin had been looking forward to "a beautiful, quiet week" of filling out end-of-year paperwork.

Then, Baldwin said, "I look up and I see this tall guy making his way into the building." The stranger was Obama staffer David Cusack, who asked Baldwin for permission to use the school.

Outside, workers have already installed orange plastic fencing on the school's lawn to accommodate Friday's crowd of party supporters and hordes of reporters.

Aside from the symbolism of its name, Unity awarded exactly 107 votes to each candidate in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary in January. Clinton narrowly won the state's contest, setting in motion an epic coast-to-coast war of attrition between the two candidates that ended June 3, when Obama clinched the nomination. Clinton suspended her campaign four days later.

The Unity gathering was the latest and most visible event in a series of gestures the two senators have made in the past two days in hopes of settling the hard feelings of the long primary season. Clinton also praised Obama before two major interest groups Thursday - the American Nurses Association, which endorsed her during the primaries, and NALEO, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials.

Both Democrats badly need one another right now as they move to the next phase of the campaign.

Obama is depending on former first lady to give her voters and donors a clear signal that she doesn't consider it a betrayal for them to shift their loyalty his way. Clinton won convincingly among several voter groups during the primaries, including working class voters and older women - groups that Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain has actively courted since she left the race.

Clinton, for her part, needs the Illinois senator's help in paying down her $10 million campaign debt, plus an assurance that she will be treated respectfully as a top surrogate on the campaign trail and at the Democratic Party convention later this summer. Some of her supporters want Clinton's name to be placed in nomination for a roll call vote at the Denver convention, an effort she hasn't formally discouraged.

Thursday, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, the New York senator urged about 200 of her top donors and fundraisers - many of whom have been openly critical of Obama's campaign and its perceived slights against Clinton during the primaries - to get behind her erstwhile rival and help him. Obama announced last week he would forgo public financing in the general election, guaranteeing he would need considerable fundraising help in the months to come.

Obama assured the group he would help Clinton retire her debt - an announcement that drew a standing ovation in the room, according to participants. He also wrote a personal check of $4,600 toward that goal - $2,300 each for himself and his wife, Michelle, the maximum allowed under federal law.

"I'm going to need Hillary by my side campaigning during his election, and I'm going to need all of you," Obama said.

He also expressed concern about the sometimes sexist treatment of Clinton during the primary campaign and said Michelle was on the receiving end of such treatment now.

Three top Clinton aides - attorneys Cheryl Mills and Robert Barnett, and longtime confidante Minyon Moore - have been negotiating the details of her future involvement. They've made the case to the Obama campaign that Clinton can spend more time campaigning for him this summer if she isn't working to pay off her debts.

Obama finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker sent an e-mail to the campaign's finance committee Wednesday making a direct pitch.

"Barack has asked each of us to collect five or six checks to help Senator Clinton repay the people who provided goods and services to her campaign," Pritzker wrote. "He made this request in the spirit of party unity. Senator Clinton has promised to do everything she can to help us beat John McCain."

Pritzker also wrote a $4,600 check toward the effort Thursday on behalf of herself and her husband.

Bill Clinton's role in Obama's campaign is still a work in progress, even though he issued a brief statement of support through a spokesman earlier this week.

But Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, told reporters Thursday that the former president was ready to go "24-7" if necessary to help Obama defeat McCain in November.

"He's willing to do whatever it takes. Winning the White House is of paramount importance, not only to Hillary but of course to President Clinton," McAuliffe said.

Democrat Barack Obama met dozens of Hillary Rodham Clinton's top financial backers, as Clinton urged them to support her ex-rival in the presidential race against Republican John McCain, the first step in a two-day push to unify their party.

On Friday, Obama and Clinton plan to campaign in Unity, New Hampshire, in what will be their first public appearance together since Clinton bowed out of the race three weeks ago.

Obama on Thursday night met with more than 200 of Clinton's biggest fundraisers at a Washington hotel. Behind the scenes, the two sides were negotiating her future involvement with the campaign.

The former first lady told her donors they must make electing Obama a priority, as she acknowledged that hard feelings remain on both sides after their hard-fought primary battle.

"But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to try to win back this White House," Clinton said.

Obama announced that he will help pay off Clinton's more than $20 million campaign debt, personally writing a check for $4,600 - the maximum allowed. His announcement that he will urge his donors to help pay Clinton's debts brought a standing ovation.

Some Clinton donors had been frustrated that the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting had not done more to help her pay the bills even as they are expected to help fund his campaign.

"I'm going to need Hillary by my side campaigning during his election, and I'm going to need all of you," Obama said, according to a report written by the only reporter allowed into the event and shared with other reporters afterward. He recounted how he had told his top fundraisers this week "to get out their checkbooks and start working to make sure Senator Clinton - the debt that's out there needs to be taken care of."

Clinton's debt includes $12 million of her own money. She has said she is not asking for help paying that back.

Three Clinton confidants - Cheryl Mills, Minyon Moore and Robert Barnett - are in talks with Obama's campaign to work out details of her future involvement, including travel, her role at the national convention and resolution of her debt. Part of their argument has been that Clinton can spend more time helping Obama if she isn't raising money to pay her bills.

Obama appears to making headway with Clinton's supporters. The latest Associated Press-Yahoo News poll, released Thursday, found 53 percent of the Democrats who favored Clinton for the nomination two months ago now back Obama for president.

That is an improvement from April, when only 40 percent of Clinton supporters said they would back Obama over McCain. Still, more than one in five who had backed Clinton now plan to support McCain.

Since locking up the Democratic nomination, Obama has focused on enticing Clinton supporters with his message of change while trying to burnish his credentials for coping with the challenges McCain claims he is too inexperienced to handle.

Those problems resurfaced with a vengeance Thursday. The stock market slid to a two-year low as oil prices rose to a new record. There was a resurgence of violence in Iraq, including the deaths of three U.S. Marines, challenging McCain's assertion the war is going better.

The disturbing developments could favor Obama, who has painted a McCain presidency as little more than an extension of the unpopular President George W. Bush and his unpopular policies. But for the Democrat, the news drew renewed attention to the depth of the problems he will inherit if elected as the first black U.S. president. Clinton's support could help with wobbly support.

While Obama was banking on Clinton's support to help heal rifts within the party, he pressed on with efforts to appeal to centrists, seeking to win over independents and deflect being typecast as a liberal Democrat out of step with the needs of Americans.

For the second time in two days, he and McCain found themselves in general agreement on a hot-button U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The nine justices, ruling for the first time on a challenge to Americans' constitutional right to bear arms, struck down in a 5-4 decision a Washington, D.C., ban on handgun ownership by private citizens.

Obama said the court ruling matched his assessment of the gun issue. A day earlier, he had criticized the high court for striking down the death penalty for child rapists, putting himself squarely in the camp of those who support the rights of individual states over the federal government - a stance more often touted by Republicans.

But McCain could face more difficulty as sobering developments indicated that the U.S.'s economic woes were far from over. With oil prices hitting $140 per barrel on Thursday, the stock market shot down to a two-year low - reflecting broader fiscal concerns in an election year in which Americans are already struggling with surging fuel costs and home foreclosures.

The challenge for McCain has been to show that he is far enough removed from the Bush administration policies which critics cite as doing little to help steer the U.S. to better times.

The Iraq war, which McCain has vocally and vociferously backed, continues to be an issue, with over 40 deaths - and three additional U.S. fatalities there - on Thursday signaling that the relative lull in violence evidenced over the past few weeks could turn in an instant.

A survey showed Obama leading McCain in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin - so-called swing states that have voted for presidential candidates of both parties in recent elections.

The polling was closest in Colorado, where Obama led McCain 49-44, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. He held the widest margin - 17 percentage points - in Minnesota, 54-37.

Separately Thursday, the AFL-CIO labor federation endorsed Obama for president, uniting the United States' 15 million union workers behind the presumed Democratic candidate.

"I am 100 percent committed to doing everything I possibly can to make sure that Sen. Obama is sworn in as the next president of the United States next January here in this Capitol," Clinton told reporters on Capitol Hill.

It's the first of several orchestrated events this week designed to show Democrats that the two are reconciling. Clinton will also attend an Obama fundraiser at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington Thursday and campaign with Obama for the first time in the small town of Unity, N.H., Friday.

Clinton's remarks followed a 25-minute closed-door meeting she had Wednesday with House Democrats. In the hallway outside, applause was heard several times coming from the gathering.

Also appearing at a brief news conference, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she told her fellow Democrats that "Senator Clinton has emerged from this election the most respected political figure in America, for now and for a long time."

Clinton said she was very much looking forward to campaigning with Obama Friday in New Hampshire.

When asked about whether her husband, former President Bill Clinton, would also campaign for Obama, Clinton responded, "he has said he will do whatever he can and whatever he's asked to do."

"It really was a unifying speech," she said, "If the Democratic party is a rope, then her speech just added more ties that bind us together."

The congresswoiman said Clinton will play "an absolutely pivotal role" in getting people who voted for her to vote for Obama.

Obama Offers Clinton $10 Million Olive Branch

Offering an olive branch to Clinton and her supporters Tuesday, Obama asked his top contributors to help retire her more than $10 million in outstanding vendor debt, ABC News' Jake Tapper first reported Tuesday.

Clinton's debt has been a major point of contention as the two former rivals attempt to reconcile.

Her debt is estimated to exceed $22 million, including more than $11 million in personal loans she made to her campaign, and the reported $4.6 million she owes pollster and ex-Clinton strategist Mark Penn, who is controversial in many Democratic circles.

Clinton, Obama to Appear Together in N.H.

On Friday, the Obama campaign has scheduled a campaign event with Clinton located in the symbolically named New Hampshire town of Unity, population 1,600.

The two candidates received exactly the same number of votes in the town during the Democratic primary in January - 107 votes apiece.

"We're a small community, and this is a major event in our town," said Willard Hathaway, the town's chairman of the Board of Selectmen, which acts as the town council.

Clinton and Obama spoke by phone Sunday night - the first time the presumptive Democratic nominee and his former rival have exchanged words since their private meeting in Washington weeks ago.

Clinton and Obama discussed their joint appearances and spoke about retiring Clinton's more than $10 million in campaign debt, reported ABC News' George Stephanopoulos .

Hurt Feelings Persist Among Dems

Despite the public smiles on display this week, hurt feelings persist on both sides.

Many Obama supporters were insulted by the Clinton campaign's tactics.

Highlighting the tension, it's been three weeks since the nomination battle ended and former President Bill Clinton hasn't yet spoken to Obama. His office released a one-sentence from spokesman Matt McKenna Tuesday.

"President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States," McKenna said.

The former president told PBS' Charlie Rose before the Iowa caucuses that voting for Obama is "a roll of the dice." He also said the Obama campaign "played the race card on me" after he likened Obama's South Carolina win to Jesse Jackson's in the 1980s, and publicly said Obama's opposition to the Iraq war was "a big fairy tale."

And many Clinton supporters maintain the former first lady was unfairly treated by the media, and done in by arcane Democratic Party rules that reduced the Michigan and Florida primaries to beauty contests, and gave superdelegates power over the nomination.

"The reason that there is even any question about whether the party will be unified ... really goes to the historic nature of the candidacy of Senator Clinton and the depth of support she earned from her supporters, coupled with the less than ideal inherently flawed nature of a primary and concerns about the objective nature of the media's coverage of Senator Clinton," said Democratic strategist Chris Lehane, an early supporter of Clinton's.

Lehane, who worked on Al Gore's 2000 and Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential bids, said Clinton supporters are beginning to fall "in line" behind Obama.

"Those Democrats, such as myself, who were proud supporters of Senator Clinton, appreciate the political axiom that first you fall in love and then you fall in line," he said. "And there is no question that Obama makes it easy to fall in line, given his talents."

After almost eight years of a Republican White House, Lehane said, Democrats will vote for Obama in November.

Washington - It will be the photo-op seen 'round the world: Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, together Friday on stage, a picture of Democratic unity in the town of Unity - the New Hampshire burg where each got 107 votes in the January primary.

But just as important for Senator Obama, in his quest to reunify his party after a divisive primary season, will be a private meeting the night before with a few dozen of Senator Clinton's top fundraisers .

While polls indicate that the rate of "defections" - Democrats who intend to vote for presumed GOP nominee John McCain - is already approaching the usual rate of the recent elections, Obama can take nothing for granted. And, having decided to forgo public financing on the wager that he can raise far more money on his own, now he has to deliver. Clinton donors, and their fundraising prowess, are key to that equation.

"Unity is the key word," says Democratic strategist Peter Fenn. "On the Hillary side, some of these people are angry and tired and a little bitter. But they will be a lot less so if Obama can assist her."

In a teleconference on Tuesday, Obama asked his top fundraisers to consider helping the former first lady pay back some of her campaign debt. She ended May $22.5 million in the hole, but at least $12 million is money she loaned to herself. Obama is asking his money bundlers to help her pay off money she owes to outside vendors, totaling at least $10 million.

Obama has yet to ask his vast network of small-money donors to pitch in for Clinton. That might be a riskier proposition for the senator from Illinois. Some rank-and-file Obama supporters viscerally do not like Clinton; to some, she does not represent change. She also voted to authorize US military action in Iraq, a move that ended up paving the way for Obama's antiwar candidacy.

But now that Obama has locked up the Democratic nomination, both camps are hoping that all can be forgiven, and that the campaign strengths of both Clintons can be deployed to return a Democrat to the White House for the first time since the Clintons themselves lived there.

After a period of silence, former President Clinton endorsed Obama on Tuesday. It was not the full-throated statement that his wife offered on June 7, but it got the job done.

After a bruising primary season, where charges of racism and sexism flew fast and furious, Democratic voters are unifying more quickly than expected, analysts say. In the past four presidential elections, there was a consistent 10 or 11 percent "defection rate" of Democrats voting for the Republican nominee. Already, Obama is nearing that range in recent polls, some taken before his June 3 clinch of the nomination.

Senator McCain, who also faces skepticism within his own party, is doing even better at uniting Republicans. His defection rate ranges from 8 percent to 12 percent. In the last two presidential races, both won by his party, the defection rate was 8 percent (2000) and 6 percent (2004), according to exit polls.

For Obama, the deep disappointment of many Clinton supporters remains an obstacle. In interviews, they said they would vote for Obama, but were not prepared to do much beyond that.

"I won't vote against him, but I just don't have the heart to put into this," says Marjorie Signer, president of Virginia NOW.

William Klein, a Democratic publicist based in Silver Spring, Md., says that eventually, he'll get excited about Obama, "but I'll also continue to worry about him winning battleground states."

"The Hillary people who say they're for McCain, I guess they remind me of the Perot voters who never voted before and never will again," says Mr. Klein, referring to the independent candidacy of Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996. "They're not very political. Hopefully, the Democratic advertising and marketing will work by November, and they'll realize they don't want to vote for McCain."

Most of us know what a brush-off looks like. You can be sure Barack Obama recognized the snub conveyed in this 27-word statement: "President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States.'' Signed Matt McKenna, spokesman.

Message: I Don't Care. P.S. You Are Dead To Me. In the pantheon of kiss-off adverbs, "obviously'' ranks up there with "frankly.'' The only way to drive "get lost'' home harder would have been to add, "If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to call.''

Forget Obama's difficulty bringing Hillary Clinton into the fold. At least those two held private peace talks at Senator Dianne Feinstein's gated Washington house earlier this month. Tomorrow, they will have a public reconciliation in a place called Unity, a New Hampshire village so small it doesn't have a traffic light and gives neither of them a home-court advantage. In the Democratic primary in January, Obama and Clinton each won 107 votes there.

Surprise! A previous commitment prevents Bill from joining his wife. You have to wonder if a date was chosen when Bill would have a plausible reason not to attend. He will be in London's Hyde Park for a concert celebrating Nelson Mandela's birthday.

Each Has Beefs

So how long will it be before Bill and Obama actually talk? A long time, if Obama doesn't personally pay homage. The problem is that each has beefs with the other. Obama thinks Clinton unfairly compared him to Jesse Jackson. Clinton thinks Obama compared him unfavorably to Ron Reagan when he said Reagan "changed the trajectory of America... in a way that Bill Clinton did not.'' Clinton says he thinks the Obama folks race-baited him. Obama complained he was being double-teamed by Hillary, with Bill playing the part of vice presidential attack dog.

Bill is now furious that among Obama's first hires was Patti Solis Doyle, whom a desperate Hillary fired in a campaign shake- up. By making Doyle chief of staff to his yet-unnamed vice presidential choice, Obama signaled in a not-so-gentle way that his choice would not be Hillary. Why poke a stick in the Clintons' eyes? It's the most inexplicable thing a candidate's done all year, and I'm including Dennis Kucinich claiming to have seen a UFO.

Who did what to whom is now beside the point. Obama won, and it's the candidate's job to reach out to the loser(s), especially when one of the losers happens to be a former president, albeit one recently guilty of some very unpresidential behavior.

What Bill Wants?

Even if it comes to begging, Obama must do it. Even with that, it will be hard. Figuring out What Bill Wants could be trickier than deducing What Hillary Wants. Friends say she's given up on being offered No. 2. She'd like her debt paid off.

Not so much Bill. He's never cared about money. It was Hillary who did the cattle futures, and donated Bill's used underwear to charity for a tax deduction. Bill sees whatever they owe as just a few more speeches to wealthy businessmen in Dubai.

Obama has significant strengths in the negotiations. Now that there isn't going to be a Clinton Restoration, Bill's path to worldwide glory runs through Obama. He'd like to remain the first virtual black president, a title conferred by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. That might happen.

When asked if Bill was a "brother'' at a debate, Obama said yes, the only qualification being his dance moves. You can picture Clinton basking in the attention, giving a fist pump on stage at the convention followed by a Hollywood hug.

Bill's Own Plane

Obama could promise Clinton that "roving ambassadorship'' that Hillary talked about for Bill had she won. It would be like a presidency-without-domestic-portfolio. And since the job would come with a plane, it would even allow Clinton to get rid of the likes of superbachelor Ron Burkle if he wants. Hillary surely would.

You can see what's holding Obama back. Why pay off the millions of dollars Hillary owes failed strategist Mark Penn and others who forced Obama to campaign three months after it was impossible for Clinton to win?

And does he really need the Clintons to defeat John McCain, a septuagenarian running to succeed a president with abysmal approval ratings in the midst of an economy in the tank, a war that a huge majority of the public is against, and 80 percent of voters saying the country's on the wrong track?

But why bet against a pair of Comeback Kids? It was only in 2000 when Hillary, fresh from her husband's impeachment, abdicated the White House for a state she had mainly visited as a tourist to run for the Senate.

Hillary's Career Arc

Seven years later, New York Senator Clinton was favored to win the presidency. That's a career arc almost as good as Obama's.

Far from making himself look weak, Obama would look strong taking the high road of reconciliation. If it turns out that all the Clintons really think about is themselves -- not about the party, the country or Obama -- and he keeps behaving the way he has, they will do the minimum. At the very least, publicly asking for their help will make it harder for the former first couple to go AWOL on him.

As good as Obama's lead in the polls looks now, politics is a dicey game. Let's fast-forward to 2011. Senate Majority Leader Hillary Clinton, the presumed 2012 presidential nominee, is proposing a congressional proclamation to honor the first black presidential candidate. Obama will travel from Illinois where he is practicing law to hear it. No one, least of all Obama, should ever forget that neither Elvis nor Mrs. Elvis is ever leaving the building.

By Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg, June 26, 2008

WASHINGTON - With the help of one of Washington's best-connected lawyers, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are negotiating a thicket of complicated issues, such as how to repay Clinton's campaign debt and her role at the Democratic convention.

At Clinton's request, the lawyer, Robert Barnett, is working to hash out questions large and small as the two camps work toward a political merger. On some levels, that is moving ahead relatively smoothly. Clinton was scheduled to introduce some of her top donors to Obama tonight in Washington, and on Friday the two of them will appear together at a rally in Unity, N.H. Obama is in talks to hire one of Clinton's most prominent advisers - Neera Tanden, her policy director - and has hired and dispatched a few of Clinton's field operatives to work in Missouri and Ohio.

But nearly three weeks after Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed Obama, some loyalists, especially on the Clinton side, are having trouble moving on.

Some Clinton supporters are grousing that Obama has yet to make the symbolic gesture of writing a check for $2,300, the maximum allowable campaign donation, to help retire her debt of more than $12 million.

A potluck dinner for women who volunteered for Clinton at her headquarters two weeks ago turned into a forum in which many of Clinton's most loyal supporters expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the contest and with Obama, attendees said. And some of Clinton's aides said that Obama's campaign had made only a perfunctory effort to hire Clinton staff members.

Obama's aides said that while he was prepared to help her pay off the debt, there was only so far he would go, given his campaign's own desire to raise record sums for the general election. In addition to the $12 million that Clinton owes to outside suppliers, she pumped more than $10 million of her own money into her campaign.

Obama said Wednesday that he would not send out e-mail to his small-dollar donors asking them to send money to Clinton.

"Their budgets are tighter," he said. "They know that I'm going to be working with Sen. Clinton, and if they want to make contributions there's nothing wrong with their doing so, and I encourage them."

Beyond that, the two sides are negotiating precisely what sort of role she will have at the convention, including what night she will make a prime-time speech and whether Clinton's name will be placed symbolically into nomination. They are discussing whether Obama's campaign will provide a plane and staff for Clinton as she travels on behalf of Obama. The talks were described by aides on both sides as complicated but not hostile.

It is written everywhere that the public is in a sour mood. Further, that a sour nation is swell news for the election chances of Barack Obama and the Democrats. Hard to disagree.

Gas and food prices are high, the president's approval is impossibly low, housing is a national nightmare and consumer confidence is at levels not seen since 1967. With Hillary defeated, Republicans are too despondent to vote. Worse, many of their own representatives, forced to choose between killing earmarks or blowing up their control of Congress, chose spending money over holding power - the definition of a loser.

That said . . .

Put down your buttermilk martini for a moment and check the chart below. Late last week, Gallup published its annual survey of public confidence in U.S. institutions.

At the top, with an impressive combined "great" or "a lot" approval of 71% sits the military, described since 2003 as presiding over a "failure" in Iraq.

At the bottom of the heap, displacing HMOs as our worst institution, one finds the second branch of government, our Congress, at 12%. The Gallup folks noted it is "the worst rating Gallup has measured for any institution in the 35-year history of this question." Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, come on down! You've made history.

For my currently dwindling money, this chart says more about the real source of Americans' bad mood than the cycles of the economy. Markets come and go, but most people expect the nation's major institutions to serve as reliable bedrock. No longer, and that is what really has people down.

Voters this year may toss Republicans off the Capitol dome, but Democrats have next-to-no reason to think this is a vote "for" them. For what? The same dark tides could float Democrats back to sea in 2010's off-year election.

Americans desperately want their institutions to function, and it must appall them to see confidence in public schools at 33%, the ever-divided Supreme Court at 32%, and the courts with what is essentially a vote of no confidence at 20%.

Hard to miss as well is that just below the military's high-confidence interval comes, of all things, the cops. Alfred Hitchcock once said, "I'm not against the police, I'm just afraid of them." No longer. What the U.S. military and the police have in common is successful self-reform of their institutions. It helps that self-discipline, largely dying at every level of society (such as the 12% Congress), is a primary job requirement.

The bad economy may put Barack Obama in the White House. The remarkable enthusiasm for him, though, has more to do with the demoralizing loss of confidence in major institutions. This, more than his fairly conventional policy ideas, is the appeal of his "change" candidacy. Barack Obama is the Hey-Jude candidate, the man who somehow will "make it better."

Earth to Obama belief system: Don't hold your breath.

The reason Congress doesn't perform is that the two parties have drifted into basic ideological disagreement on the way the world should work. So has much of the electorate. Roughly, the Democrats, with the decline of the industrial unions, are now the party of the public sector. The GOP, fitfully but without doubt, is the party of the private sector.

Case study: At the bottom of that confidence chart lie two nonperforming American assets, HMOs and Congress. This is about health insurance. The public wants Congress to fix it. It isn't happening.

Republicans, for example, have promoted private health savings accounts and private-sector competition. Democrats, from Hillary to Obama, want health insurance federally managed and subsidized. The parties aren't close here or on much else.

The sour mood in search of better is real enough. But the belief that Barack Obama has come among us as the angel of change looks to be a mile wide in intensity and a quarter-inch deep in reality. Many institutions are caught between a divided politics pulling hard at opposite ends of the rope. The public's sourness is just a symptom of this tension. Peace of mind - assuming people truly want that - won't come until voters decide whether the future direction of their country should be set mainly by the institutions of the private sector or by institutions of the public sector.

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is sharing one his most valuable assets - his top fundraisers - with former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton to help her pay off her debt, the latest effort to heal the wounds of a bruising primary campaign.

"What I said was to my large donors who are in a position to write large checks, to help Senator Clinton retire her debt, or at least a portion of it. And I think they're going to be those who are willing to do so," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Chicago.

A large chunk of Obama's cash has come from small donors, but he said he was not making the same appeal to them.

"I'm not going to be individually contacting $15 donors, because frankly, it probably wouldn't be that effective in terms of making a big dent in Senator Clinton's debt," Obama said.

Obama's green light to his money bundlers came before he and Clinton were scheduled to meet in Washington on Thursday with some of her top fundraisers in a show of unity after their bruising contest for the Demoratic presidential nomination. On Friday, the two planned to campaign together in New Hampshire.

Obama clinched the nomination earlier this month; Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed him.

The former first lady and New York senator reported a $22.5 million debt at the end of May, more than half of which was a personal loan to her presidential campaign. Clinton, in a call to her top fundraisers last week, said she would concentrate on paying off money owed to vendors, not her personal loans.

She made the same pitch in a fundraising e-mail to supporters Wednesday, saying she wouldn't use their money to repay herself.

"As you know, I had to loan money to my campaign at critical moments," Clinton wrote. "I'm not asking anyone's help paying that back. That was my investment and my commitment because I believe so deeply in our cause."

Obama's finance team has expanded since he secured the nomination earlier this month, providing a broad base of potential assistance to Clinton. At least 200 fundraisers attended the campaign's national finance meeting in Chicago last week. Scores were unable to attend, one participant said.

In urging his top fundraisers to help Clinton, Obama was counting on them to seek out their pool of donors to raise the money in large increments. Donors who have not contributed to Clinton's campaign could give up to $2,300 to help her pay off her debts.

It remained to be seen whether Obama would make a similar appeal to his Internet donors, a vast network of small-dollar contributors who helped Obama shatter fundraising records during the primary contests. As of the end of May, Obama had raised more than $287 million.

Clinton donors had been making a clear case to Obama that he needed to use his fundraising resources to help her get out of the red. Her national finance co-chair, Hassan Nemazee, told The Associated Press last week that Clinton would be freer to campaign for Obama and raise money for him if she did not have to concentrate on retiring her debt.

Moreover, Nemazee said, it would be easier for Clinton fundraisers who wanted to help Obama to be able to tell former Clinton donors, "Look what Senator Obama has done for Senator Clinton."

At least one Obama supporter said that message was heard, prompting Obama's entreaty to his finance team on Tuesday.

With the help of one of Washington's best-connected lawyers, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are negotiating a thicket of complicated issues, like how to repay Clinton's campaign debt and her role at the Democratic convention. The talks come as they try to leave behind their intense rivalry and work out a plan to cooperate this fall.

At Clinton's request, the lawyer, Robert Barnett, who has brokered multimillion-dollar book deals for clients including Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, is working to hash out questions large and small as the two camps work toward a political merger. Perhaps the thorniest question - what to do about Bill Clinton, who friends say continues to refight the bitter primary fight - has yet to be raised by either side, advisers said.

On some levels, the melding of the two operations is moving ahead relatively smoothly. Hillary Clinton will introduce some of her top donors to Obama on Thursday night in Washington, and on Friday the two of them will appear together at a rally in Unity, New Hampshire. Obama is in talks to hire one of Clinton's most prominent advisers - Neera Tanden, her policy director - and has hired and dispatched a few of Clinton's field operatives to work in Missouri and Ohio.

But nearly three weeks after Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed Obama, some loyalists, especially on the Clinton side, are having trouble moving on.

Some Clinton supporters are grousing that Obama has yet to make the symbolic gesture of writing a check for $2,300, the maximum allowable campaign donation, to help retire her debt of over $12 million.

At her headquarters two weeks ago, a potluck dinner for women who had volunteered for Clinton turned into a forum in which many of her most loyal supporters expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the contest and with Obama, attendees said. And some of Clinton's aides said Obama's campaign had made only a perfunctory effort to hire Clinton staff members; the Clinton campaign payroll is ending for most employees in less than a week.

Obama's aides said that while he was prepared to help her pay off the debt, there was only so far he would go, given his campaign's own desire to raise record sums for the general election. In addition to the $12 million that Clinton owes to outside suppliers, she pumped more than $10 million of her own money into her campaign.

Obama said Wednesday that he would not send out e-mail to his small-dollar donors asking them to send money to Clinton. "Their budgets are tighter," he said. "They know that I'm going to be working with Senator Clinton, and if they want to make contributions, there's nothing wrong with their doing so, and I encourage them."

Beyond that, the two sides are negotiating precisely what kind of role she will have at the convention, including what night she will make a prime-time speech and whether her name will be placed symbolically into nomination. They are discussing whether Obama's campaign will provide a plane and staff for Clinton as she travels on his behalf. The talks were described by aides on both sides as complicated, but not hostile.

Still, the sheer agenda of discussion items - and the presence of Barnett, a Washington lawyer who has represented some of the city's top political and media figures over the years - served as a reminder of what an extraordinarily close competition this was for these two celebrity candidates.

For all that, aides to both senators said their relationship seemed far stronger than that of many of their respective supporters following this combative primary season.

Since Clinton suspended her candidacy and endorsed Obama this month, the two have spoken a few times by telephone as recently as Sunday, but have not met in person since they got together at the Washington home of Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, two days after the last primaries.

Obama asked his big-dollar fund-raisers this week to step in to help Clinton pay off her debt; Clinton's advisers said she would ask 200 of her most generous donors to start writing checks to Obama when the two appear before them at a closed-door session here on Thursday.

"They were allies before they became competitors in the longest Democratic fight on record; they're re-establishing their relationship," said David Axelrod, the chief strategist to Obama's campaign. "I expect that they will unify around the things that they both care about. They both have an interest in working closely together."

Axelrod added: "This was a long and unbelievably competitive battle. It takes a little time."

Clinton's campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, said that everyone who had supported her had been asked to turn all their energies to helping Obama. "Hillary is 100 percent behind making sure that Barack gets elected president," McAuliffe said. "We're instructing everybody, 'Let's get on board, let's win this election.' "

He said that most of Clinton's supporters were eager to help Obama defeat his Republican rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, though he said he had encountered regular reminders of the bitterness from the Democratic primary fight.

"There are people, as you know, who are angry; we just are going to have to deal with that," he said. "I've been on losing ends before. For many of these people the only remedy is time."

In their conversations, aides to both senators said, discussion of whether she would be interested in - or whether he would offer - a vice-presidential slot has not come up as they have sought to unify the Democratic Party.

"It's a separate issue," Axelrod said of the running-mate topic. "She's been good enough to give him the room that a nominee should have to make a decision."

Although Obama and Clinton have talked several times since she withdrew, Obama and Bill Clinton have yet to talk. The relationship-repairing effort, aides said, is concentrating first on Hillary Clinton.

Aides to both senators say hard feelings between the two camps are dissipating by the week - many people from both sides, in fact, were friends before and remain close - but some habits remain. In the primary, aides to Clinton referred to their rival as BHO - initials of Barack Hussein Obama, including his middle name, which has been a politically sensitive issue - while Obama's team simply referred to him as BO. The BHO shorthand is frowned upon inside Obama's campaign headquarters, a warning for any Clinton staff members coming aboard.

McAuliffe said the debt problem should not be a big issue as the campaign moved forward. "Listen, I've been helping the Clintons with debt for a long time," he said. "It hasn't bothered us before, and it doesn't bother me now. We're going to retire the debt in due course. I'm not concerned."

But Clinton's advisers have told Obama that her ability to campaign on his behalf will be curtailed if she has to devote the summer to raising money on her own behalf.

The question of how many of Clinton's former associates will end up working in Obama's campaign is another source of tension. To date, there has been no large-scale effort to recruit Clinton's aides.

Part of this is because Obama's campaign high command is already fully formed and because it is based in Chicago, meaning a relocation for most former Clinton workers. (Her headquarters was in suburban Washington.)

The hiring by Obama of Patti Solis Doyle, ousted as Clinton's campaign manager in February, to run the operation of Obama's running mate was seen by Clinton allies as a snub and a signal that Clinton was not in contention for the No. 2 position on the ticket. Obama's advisers said that was not the intended message.

Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said the campaign was taking names of Clinton staff members from Clinton and was prepared to hire a number, particularly for contested states.

"They are getting us the names of people who are interested in working with us," Plouffe said, "and we are working through that. They have a lot of talent."

By Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny, The New York Times, June 26, 2008

When asked by a reporter if he had any advice for Mrs. Clinton, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic nominee, chuckled and said, "Compartmentalize."

Mr. Kerry is one of 12 current senators and former presidential candidates who made a similar return to the World's Greatest Deliberative Body. John McCain, Republican of Arizona, joined the club eight years ago; Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, 28 years ago, and three others - Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas; Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut; and now two-time loser Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware - in this race. Barack Obama hopes he never has to.

But few returnees were greeted with as much fuss and anticipation as Mrs. Clinton, of New York, received on Tuesday. This is due in part to the fanfare that accompanies all things Hillary, but also to the fact that some onlookers were watching for signs of discord between Mrs. Clinton and colleagues who had endorsed Mr. Obama, of Illinois, in the Democratic presidential primary.

Roughly 250 or so camera-clickers, question-shouters and well-wishers gathered outside the Capitol in the midday sun to await Mrs. Clinton's arrival. She ignored the first two groups and went straight for the third as she climbed the Capitol steps. She was greeted at the door by a small group of fellow Democratic senators, including Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland.

"How sweet, all for me?" Ms. Mikulski joked. "And it isn't even my birthday today."

Mrs. Clinton walked into the weekly Democratic luncheon just off the Senate floor and was met with sustained applause and clinking of glasses.

"I'm glad to be here, friends," she said. Nothing about Mrs. Clinton's words or gestures of late suggested she would be anything but committed to the "unity" theme Democrats have been pushing hard in recent weeks. She was ardent in her endorsement of Mr. Obama two and a half weeks ago, and former President Bill Clinton's office issued a one-sentence statement early Tuesday saying that he "is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States."

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama will both attend a fund-raiser on Thursday night in Washington, and then appear together on Friday for a rally in the New Hampshire town of Unity, where they will presumably demonstrate their commitment to same.

By all accounts, unity was the watchword of the lunch, and everyone was dutifully on message about how warm the thing was. "She is just a treasured member of our caucus,” Senator Patty Murray of Washington said.

Others described Mrs. Clinton's luncheon manner as characteristically "workmanlike." She smiled and dutifully dispensed handshakes, air kisses and "good to see yooos" to former supporters and nonsupporters alike. "I got a handshake," reported Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a supporter of Mr. Obama, after the lunch. "No hug, no air kiss."

Mrs. McCaskill also said that in brief remarks, Mrs. Clinton voiced her full commitment to Mr. Obama's campaign - in recounting this, Mrs. McCaskill feigned relief by pretending to wipe sweat from her forehead.

Mr. Dodd, who ran for president this year before dropping out and endorsing Mr. Obama, said he talked to Mrs. Clinton about his experience returning to the Senate after ending his bid. "I called her and said I was going to re-announce my presidential campaign at the Democratic lunch," Mr. Dodd said. "I told her that running for president was actually easier than sitting through the lunch."

Mrs. Clinton emerged from the lunch just after 2 p.m., looking no worse for wear behind a perma-smile. She stood briefly with the Senate Democratic leadership team - the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada; the majority whip, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois; Charles E. Schumer of New York; and Ms. Murray - and waxed conciliatory for a few minutes, vowing again to support Mr. Obama, "to be the very best senator I can be," and all that.

"It is not something I think about," Mrs. Clinton said in response to a question about whether she would be Mr. Obama's running mate. "This is totally Senator Obama's decision."

At which point, Mrs. Clinton returned to her Senate office to find that her staff had set up a Ping-Pong table while she was gone.

This is the Democrats' "unity week", when the two candidates who fought each other so long for their party's nomination proclaim loudly that they are reconciled. At their first joint appearance since Mrs Clinton conceded defeat 19 days ago, she will ask her big donors gathered at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington to open their wallets - if not their hearts - to her former rival.

On Tuesday Mr Obama urged his top contributors to help Mrs Clinton to pay off a chunk of her $22.5 million campaign debt. Yesterday she told congressional supporters on Capitol Hill to get behind the Democratic nominee.

Tomorrow they will take the stage together at a rally in the symbolically named town of Unity, New Hampshire, where they both received 107 votes during a hard-fought January primary. On Saturday Mr Obama's supporters are inviting those who backed Mrs Clinton into their homes for "Unite for Change" parties in 3,000 locations across all 50 states.

After a bitter primary battle, Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., will campaign together Friday in Unity, N.H. But how much unity is there, really?

In front of the cameras today, both put on a tremendous display of mutual admiration.

"I want her campaigning as much as she can," Obama said of Clinton at a press availability this evening in Chicago. "She was a terrific campaigner. She, I think, inspired millions of people."

Obama predicted the two of them "will have a terrific time together in New Hampshire."

"I am 100 percent committed to doing everything I can to make sure that Sen. Obama is sworn in as the next president of the United States next January," Clinton said this morning after a private 35-minute meeting with House Democrats, after which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi relayed that she'd told her fellow Democrats that "Sen. Clinton has emerged from this election the most respected political figure in America, for now and for a long time."

But behind all the smiles, tension remains.

One dispute centers around the extent to which Obama will help Clinton retire her more than $10 million in campaign debt. On Tuesday, Obama asked his top fundraisers to open their wallets for her.

"What I said was, to my large donors, who are in a position to write large checks, to help Sen. Clinton retire her debt, or at least a portion of it," Obama said today. "And I think there are going to be those who are willing to do so."

Former Clinton campaign adviser Lisa Caputo praised Obama for the move. "I think it was a necessary step, and I think it has sent a clear message to Clinton supporters that people -- both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama -- are on the same page," she said.

But to the assured consternation of other former Clinton campaign officials, Obama said he would not solicit help for Clinton from his grassroots army of 1.5 million donors, many of whom make small contributions and contribute through the Internet.

Another challenge in uniting the two campaigns is getting Bill Clinton, whose public comments about Obama have been tepid, on board. The former president was irked during the primaries by insinuations he had used racially charged language about Obama, and by Obama's occasional belittling of his accomplishments.

"I don't think Bill Clinton had that closeness, that up-front closeness, to Barack Obama that Hillary had, and that makes it a little more difficult," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a former Clinton supporter, told ABC News.

Rendell said that, to Bill Clinton, "Barack Obama was sort of a stand-offish figure," while, to his wife, he "was someone she worked with, someone she likes, someone she respects and somebody she stood toe-to-toe with. She knows how good Barack Obama was, just like he knows how good she was."

Rangel said Bill Clinton might have gone too far sometimes, but that should be understandable.

"I've seen some awkwardness and some flare-ups that I know should not have occurred," Rangel said, adding that these flare-ups would not have occurred if the Obama campaign hadn't been "messing with the man's wife."

Obama today downplayed any tension with the former president, saying Bill Clinton's terse words of support for him, so far, would not affect party unity, "because I'm going to be appearing with Sen. Clinton, the former president's wife, who was involved in an epic, historic primary with me."

He added that "if the question is, do I want Bill Clinton campaigning for us, for the ticket, leading into November, the answer is absolutely yes. I want him involved. He is a brilliant politician. He was an outstanding president. And so, I want his help, not only in campaigning, but also in governing. And I'm confident that I'll get that help."

Sen. Clinton said of her husband, "he has said he will do whatever he can and whatever he's asked to do."

Beyond Clinton's husband, Obama will want her to urge her supporters -- many of whom are still angry -- to get behind the presumptive Democratic nominee.

According to Rendell, Clinton is "going to deliver a very stern message, in some ways, to her supporters: 'Get over it. Let's go.' As she said, we can't waste any time looking back."

Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama has asked his finance team to help his former opponent Hillary Clinton pay off a debt of at least $10m from her failed presidential campaign.

In a teleconference with his top fundraisers yesterday afternoon, Obama asked them to help the former first lady, a campaign spokesman confirmed.

Later at a star-studded fundraising gala in Los Angeles, the Illinois senator, who could become America's first black president, appealed to those in the crowd who might have supported Clinton.

"I know I caused some heartburn and some frustration," he said, adding that he and Clinton "were allies then and we're allies now."

Obama's campaign refused to say how many millions he and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) raised at the gala, but Democratic officials put the number at close to $5m. The presidential hopeful had already broken fundraising records by the end of May by raising an unprecedented $287m.

The price of a ticket for the gala's general reception was $2,300 while tickets to the VIP dinner cost $28,500. The DNC will get the latter donations and Obama will receive the $2,300 share.

Obama also used the event to reach out to Hollywood stars to throw their support and cash behind him.

Many celebrities attended including actors Don Cheadle and Dennis Quaid, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am, who created two music videos for Obama during the primary campaign.

By Angela Balakrishnan, The Guardian, June 25, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama will meet with his formal rival Sen. Hillary Clinton tomorrow at a fundraiser in D.C. before campaigning with her in their first-ever joint campaign appearance in Unity, New Hampshire.

Behind the scenes, reports of tension between the two camps have been ongoing, whether it be on the topic of Obama helping retire over $10 million in Clinton debt or the one-line statement of endorsement this week from former President Bill Clinton.

But today, Obama had nothing but pleasantries for the Clintons.

"I want her campaigning as much as she can. She was a terrific campaigner," Obama said of Sen. Clinton. "I think we will have a terrific time together in New Hampshire. And I think that she will be very effective all the way through the election."

When asked by reporters about Clinton's primary campaign debt, Obama admitted, "We don't have some ten-point strategy to do this. What I said was to my large donors, who are in a position to write large checks, to help Senator Clinton retire her debt, or at least a portion of it. And I think there are going to be those who are willing to do so."

The low-key endorsement by former President Bill Clinton also raised some eyebrows this week. Instead of endorsing Obama on television with hundreds of people cheering at a big venue -- like former Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. John Edwards' endorsement -- the former president issued a short statement from his spokesperson announcing his support for the presumptive Democratic nominee.

But during a Wednesday news conference with reporters, Obama brushed off media questions about the "tepid" endorsement.

"It is understandable that the former president wouldn't want to upstage what is going to be, I think, a terrific unity event over the next day and a half," he said. "I'm going to be appearing with Senator Clinton, the former president's wife who was involved in an epic, historic primary with me, and then I'm going to be campaigning with her on Friday."

On Bill Clinton's role in his campaign, Obama said, "I want him involved. He is a brilliant politician. He was a outstanding president. And so I want his help not only in campaigning but also in governing. And I'm confident that I'll get that help."

In an effort to bring the Democratic Party together and potentially bolster her standing under an Obama administration, Hillary Clinton is expected to share two of the most valuable assets in politics with her former rival: voters and fund-raisers.

Sen. Clinton has emerged from vacation after withdrawing her presidential bid on June 7 to assume her new role as one of Barack Obama's most influential supporters.

On Thursday, she will make her first major public appearance since the end of the long Democratic primary when she addresses the Nurses Association House of Delegates Convention, followed by a speech to nearly 1,000 Hispanic leaders in Washington, at a National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials luncheon. Women and Hispanics make up two of Sen. Clinton's most devoted bases of support and groups the Democrats will need to capture in the fall.

Also on Thursday, Sen. Clinton will hold a meeting at a Washington hotel to introduce Sen. Obama to her top fund-raisers, many of whom have been reluctant to embrace her former opponent.

On Friday, the two Democrats will appear at a "Unite for Change" rally in Unity, N.H., where they each won 107 votes during the Democratic primary.

"She's committed to doing everything she can to rally folks behind Sen. Obama," says Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee.

Clinton aides say the New York senator hasn't received detailed marching orders from the Obama campaign. They expect Sen. Clinton to concentrate her efforts among the women and white, working-class voters who made up her strongest supporters but whom Sen. Obama has struggled with in the past.

Clinton aides say the former first lady may also make joint or solo appearances on behalf of Sen. Obama in key battleground states she won during the primaries, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

"She brings a lot to the states where she did well in and with particular groups of voters, non-college-educated women, older women," says Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster who served as a chief strategist for the Clinton campaign.

Sen. Obama told reporters in Chicago on Wednesday that he is looking forward to "campaigning vigorously" with Sen. Clinton in the weeks ahead. "I want her out there talking to people about how we're going to provide universal health care. I want her to talk about what's going to be required for us to get on a serious energy footing in this country...And I think we can send Sen. Clinton anywhere and she will be effective," he said.

The extent and effectiveness with which the Obama campaign uses Sen. Clinton could affect the Democrats' fortunes in November, political analysts say.

"There is no one more valuable [to Sen. Obama] than Hillary Clinton, not even President Clinton," says Democratic strategist Tad Devine. "She's in a tremendous position to speak to those people in particular who supported her and would've supported her in a general election."

Some Clinton aides predict several more joint appearances similar to Friday's New Hampshire rally in the coming weeks. "This was a very difficult campaign, let's be honest. It caused some heartburn. But we are a family. We are the Democratic Party, and we are on the same team. So let's go out and win in November," Sen. Clinton said to a standing ovation from House Democrats on Wednesday.

Sen. Clinton is expected to call on her top fund-raisers to donate the maximum of $2,300 to Sen. Obama's campaign before the August national party convention. The Obama campaign is doing its part to return the favor. Sen. Obama has encouraged his top donors to contribute up to $2,300 to help pay off at least $10 million of Sen. Clinton's $22.5 million debt, more than half of which was a personal loan she made to her presidential campaign.

WASHINGTON (AP) - She came, she saw, she hugged.

Hillary Rodham Clinton returned to Congress Tuesday for the first time since suspending her presidential campaign, to a loud round of applause and hugs from Democrats as they try to bridge the rifts left by a long, bruising presidential primary.

The return of the New York senator had been much anticipated since she suspended her race for the White House earlier this month after Barack Obama clinched the necessary number of delegates to secure the party's nomination.

"Glad to be here, my friends, glad to be here," she said as she entered the building, adding later: "We have a lot ahead of us and I am rolling up my sleeves and getting back to work."

She was immediately surrounded and hugged by three of her closest supporters: Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

Mikulski, who minutes earlier had been impatiently tapping her watch and peering out the door as she waited for Clinton, declared: "We need you! We need your vote!"

Schumer, a major party fundraiser, immediately answered, "We need more than your vote!"

The group then entered the weekly lunch for Democratic senators, where the applause and clinking of silverware carried far into the hallway where reporters had gathered.

Inside, Clinton gave a short speech saying she was glad to be back and planned to do everything she could to help Obama win the White House and Democrats win races across the country.

"It was the kind of pumped up talk that you would expect," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., with Clinton telling them "we should all join forces."

She emerged from the meeting about an hour later with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Schumer.

Reid called it "one of the most emotional caucuses that I've attended."

Clinton said she returned to Congress "with an even greater depth and awareness of what we have to do here in Washington," Clinton said.

Many of voters' most pressing concerns are about problems that cannot be solved on a local or state level, she said.

"That's why we're going to work very hard to elect Senator Obama president," she said.

Wednesday, Clinton is to visit House Democrats. On Friday, she travels to New Hampshire for a joint appearance in the town of Unity, where each candidate received exactly 107 votes in the primary.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, she dismissed a question about the likelihood she may be asked to join Obama on the ticket as his pick for vice-president.

"I am not seeking any other position. ... This is totally Senator Obama's decision and that's the way it should be," she said. "My role is to be the very best senator I can be and represent the greatest state in our country."

Sen. John Kerry, the party's unsuccessful standard-bearer in 2004, said Clinton comes back "with great respect and affection, and with a readiness by a lot of people here to just go to work with her."

As for any advice he would offer her, he said it may take time to adjust from the frenetic pace of the campaign trail to the pace of the Senate.

"You have to be kind of patient and focused and disciplined, and I'm confident she'll be all of those things," he said.

By DEVLIN BARRETT, The Associated Press, June 2, 2008

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The campaign trail is taking a detour down the red carpet.

Movie stars, big-name directors and other celebrities were expected to turn out Tuesday night to contribute to Barack Obama, who is counting on Hollywood's reliable support for Democrats, and the Democratic National Committee.

The guest list for the gala, in which top tickets go for more than $30,000, includes actor Samuel L. Jackson, models Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. Also expected to attend is Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, who created two music videos for Obama during the primary season - including one called "Yes We Can" that set music to clips from his speeches and became an Internet sensation.

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee will divide the money from the fundraiser. Klum's husband, singer Seal, is among the entertainers expected to perform at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Shattering records, Obama had raised more than $287 million through the end of May. Last week, reversing an earlier promise, he said he would not take public financing for the general election. The move lifts the cap on what he can spend, allowing him to pour hundreds of millions more into his campaign against Republican John McCain, who has said he would take public financing and has criticized Obama's decision.

Tuesday's asking ticket price for the gala's general reception was $2,300. Tickets to a VIP dinner were $28,500. Obama aides were expecting at least 500 people, though more were likely. The Democratic National Committee would get the $28,500 donations and Obama would get the $2,300 share.

Republican John McCain and the Republican National Committee raised a combined $7 million at a similar joint fundraiser in New York last month that was hosted by New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.

The list of famous donors who have already given to Obama includes George Clooney, Paul Newman, Matt Damon, Larry David, Will Smith, Jennifer Aniston and Oprah Winfrey.

The Center for Responsive Politics, analyzing fundraising data released May 21, said Obama had collected more than $4 million from the movie, TV and music businesses. His opponent in the Democratic primaries, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, raised $3.4 million from those groups, and McCain managed $636,000.

McCain's boldface backers include producer Jerry Bruckheimer and "Saturday Night Live" executive producer Lorne Michaels.

The entertainment industry gave $33.1 million to federal candidates in 2004, about 70 percent of it going to Democrats, the center said.

Along with the boldface names he hopes to attract in Hollywood, Obama is looking to win over the Los Angeles donors who had supported Clinton in the primaries. Continuing that push, he will meet Thursday in Washington with Clinton and her former financial backers in an attempt to ease them onto his side.

Last week, Barack Obama justified his decision to forgo public financing for the general election and the spending limits it imposes by noting the legions of common citizens who have donated small amounts of money to bankroll his presidential run. That, he said, satisfies the spirit of campaign-finance overhaul, if not the letter.

This week, the Democratic senator from Illinois will return to the reality of running a costly campaign by meeting with a new group of influential and well-heeled donors.

The presumptive nominee will arrive in Washington Thursday for a powwow with the "Hillraisers," the cadre of top-producing fund-raisers who propped up Hillary Clinton's run for the White House. The New York senator managed to amass some $200 million for her failed bid; much of that money came courtesy of a few hundred "bundlers" -- fund-raisers who persuaded wealthy friends and associates to put up a federally imposed maximum of $4,600 for her candidacy.

Both senators will attend the meeting, set at the swank Mayflower Hotel. People who plan to go say it will serve two purposes: to lock down support for Sen. Obama and to hammer out a pledge from his campaign to help Sen. Clinton retire some of her own campaign debt. The Clinton camp reported a $22.5 million debt at the end of May, more than half of which was a personal loan from the senator to fund her presidential run.

Sen. Obama can probably expect a somewhat chillier reception from the Hillraisers than the one he has received from the hundreds of thousands of "small donors" his campaign says have contributed to his cause, helping to raise some $287 million since his campaign began.

Some Hillraisers remain miffed at the harsh rhetoric that developed over the bruising primary season and are upset that Sen. Obama seems uninterested in inviting Sen. Clinton to be his running mate. Obama finance officials say this should come as no surprise; the wounds, they say, are still fresh. "She only gave her concession speech a week and a half ago," said Kirk Wagar, Sen. Obama's Florida finance chairman.

Bruised feelings or not, the Mayflower event should deliver between $500,000 and $1 million for Sen. Obama. One Hillraiser said most attendees will arrive with $2,300 checks, the maximum they can give for the general election.

Take Chris Korge, a Miami developer and longtime Clinton supporter who was one of Sen. Clinton's most-prolific bundlers. Mr. Korge doesn't mask his disappointment that Sen. Clinton appears all but finished in the race, but he notes that in 2004, he backed three Democratic candidates before aligning himself with nominee John Kerry and raising $3 million for the Massachusetts senator.

Mr. Korge, who organized an evening event in spring 2007 that netted nearly $1 million for Sen. Clinton, said he has tentatively agreed to stage a similar event for Sen. Obama at his sprawling home outside Miami later this summer. "Hillary told me to go help him and, I'm helping him," Mr. Korge said of Sen. Obama. "I'm committed to raising as much money for him as I can."

Hillraisers say they have been privately assured by Obama finance officials that the senator himself will ask his maxed-out donors to help pay Sen. Clinton's bills, though many believe that effort will be a drop in the debt bucket, netting her only $300,000 or so.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - For Hollywood, there's only one star left in the presidential campaign.

Barack Obama's gala fundraiser Tuesday will attract the mandatory lineup of big-screen talent and boldface names - actors Samuel L. Jackson and Dennis Quaid, model Cindy Crawford and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard - and confirm again that the entertainment industry remains one of the most reliable and abundant sources of Democratic campaign cash.

The party's 2008 presidential candidates pocketed eight of every $10 coming from movie, TV and music businesses, and Hillary Rodham Clinton's withdrawal from the race all but guarantees a Hollywood windfall for Obama as the party begins to unite around its presumed nominee.

The glitzy gathering will be an early test of Obama's ability to enlist Clinton's financial backers, many of whom are still nursing some pain from the grueling primary contest. Obama will meet with Clinton and some of her top fundraisers on Thursday in Washington and the two will campaign together for the first time on Friday in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Obama and his campaign have been coaxing Clinton's numerous fundraisers to join his finance operation, which raised more than $287 million as of the end of May.

Among prominent Clinton supporters in Southern California, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - a Clinton national co-chair - met with Obama in Miami on Saturday and has committed to work for his election. Director Rob Reiner has reached out to the Obama campaign. And Ron Burkle, a close friend of former President Clinton known for holding lavish fundraisers at his Beverly Hills estate, "is happy to do whatever the campaign asks," said spokesman Frank Quintero.

The Los Angeles event comes just days after Obama spurned the public financing system for the general election, opening the way for him to raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars after the Denver convention in a race in which he's already broken fundraising records.

Top tickets are priced at more than $30,000, with the money divided between the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

"There are a few Republicans in this town," says Chad Griffin, a Clinton fundraiser and Hollywood-connected political consultant, who is now supporting Obama. "I do not anticipate anyone in this industry supporting John McCain, regardless of whom they supported in the primary."

McCain has banked money from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and "Saturday Night Live" executive producer Lorne Michaels, but "Hollywood has already voted with its feet," said Clinton-fundraiser-turned-Obama-fundraiser John Emerson, alluding to the steady flow of entertainment money to Democrats in the primary season.

While wealthy celebrities often lavish money on multiple candidates, Obama's donors already include Will Smith, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Leonard Nimoy and singer Harry Connick Jr. Oprah Winfrey's fundraiser for Obama at her Santa Barbara-area estate was one of the biggest events of the primary season, helping cement Obama's position as a credible challenger to Clinton.

An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, based on fundraising data released May 21, found Obama had collected more than $4 million from movie, TV and music businesses during the campaign. Clinton had received $3.4 million.

McCain's take: $636,000.

That's in keeping with prior years. In 2004, Democrats seeking federal offices banked about 70 percent of the donations from those industries.

Hollywood "is always an uphill climb for Republicans," said McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers. "I think that we're very encouraged by the support that we've been able to get from the folks in the entertainment industry, and John McCain is a great fan of a lot of the work that they do."

It was McCain who had a cameo in the 2005 comedy "The Wedding Crashers."

On a fundraising swing through California this week, McCain will be tapping into sources in the business community. Billionaire investor George Argyros is holding a $25,000-a-head dinner for the Arizona senator at his Newport Beach home.

For Obama, the most important people at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Tuesday might not be the celebrities on the guest list or the Grammy-winning entertainers on stage. A measure of his progress in recruiting Clinton donors will be how many of his vanquished rival's supporters turn out for the Los Angeles event. Emerson was among a group of top Clinton fundraisers who met with Obama staff last week.

It could be a mixed showing.

For Clinton supporters "it's very hard to let go of this dream and take all of this energy and put it toward his campaign. That's easier said than done for many people," said Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, a major Clinton fundraiser now pooling money for the Illinois senator.

Obama "does not have a money problem. The urgency of raising money is less than the urgency of healing the wounds," said Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, who has raised more than $1 million for Clinton since her first Senate race in 2000 in New York.

The best persuader will be Clinton herself. "We lose too much if we lose the White House. Her continuing to say that is of paramount importance," Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis said.

For Obama, the Tuesday money will only be the beginning. Not surprisingly, there's already buzz that David Geffen is organizing a major Hollywood fundraiser for Obama later this year.

In the opening weeks of the general-election campaign, Sen. Barack Obama has moved aggressively to shape his campaign and offered a clear road map for the kind of candidate he is likely to become in the months ahead: an ambitious gamer of the electoral map, a ruthless fundraiser and a scrupulous manager of his own biography in the face of persistent concerns about how he is perceived.

Obama's early maneuvers suggest a clear understanding within the campaign of his strengths and weaknesses. He bought air time in 18 states, a sure sign that he hopes to expand Democrats' traditional electoral map. He opted out of the public campaign-financing system -- revealing his determination to press his financial advantage, even at the cost of handing his Republican opponent the opportunity to raise questions about the sincerity of his rhetoric on reform.

And with a first ad that delves into his biography, Obama acknowledged ongoing concerns among his advisers that voters do not know whether he shares the values and beliefs of ordinary Americans, a potentially critical vulnerability. The ad speaks to the reality that enough questions were raised about Obama through the long nomination battle that he needs to address them. The campaign's concerns include both taking on misinformation -- such as the persistent claim that he is Muslim when he is in fact a Christian -- and framing a biography unlike that of any nominee in the modern era.

"Any of the attempts to describe him inaccurately he takes head-on with the new commercial," said Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's closest friends and confidants. "You begin a new campaign with an introduction. You can't presume that everybody was paying attention during the primary season. So let's start with basics. He describes his roots, his philosophy, his love of country. That's a really good start."

Jim Margolis, Obama's media adviser, said that, despite the long primary season, Obama still is not well known to voters in many parts of the country. "They don't know the full story," he said. "They don't have a complete sense of what motivates him, what are the biographical points of his life that have made him the person that he is today and what he wants to do as president."

Margolis said the campaign is primarily working to fill an information vacuum, but he acknowledged that combating rumors that could endanger Obama's candidacy is also part of the motivation behind the opening ad.

"There are just a lot of big holes there for a lot of people," he said. "But, to be sure, we live in a different world than we lived in before. This campaign is only possible because of the Internet, because of the technology, because we could raise a couple of hundred million dollars [from] 1.5 million Americans who on average gave less than $100 each. Could not have happened 10 years ago. On the other hand, you're constantly dealing with the misinformation that can spread quickly, where in 24 hours you can get millions of hits."

Even as the campaign seeks to take control of Obama's image, hammering home the message that his is a thoroughly American story, the decision last week to opt out of the public financing system -- and forgoing more than $84 million in campaign funds -- added a new dimension to his profile as a politician. And it appeared to immediately cut both ways. Sen. John McCain pounced on the decision, questioning Obama's character. "He has completely reversed himself and gone back, not on his word to me, but the commitment he made to the American people," McCain told reporters Thursday, citing Obama's initial pledge to stay within the existing campaign finance rules.

Yet Obama's advocates also argue a positive lesson about their candidate's character can be drawn from the decision: that Obama is willing to take political risks in order to win. His toughness as a politician was often questioned during the Democratic primary, as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton cast herself as the only Democrat able to do hand-to-hand combat with Republicans. "People and commentators have been saying we know Barack is hopeful and that he appeals to a broad cross section of the public," Jarrett said. "But perhaps people didn't know how tough he is. He's been saying all along, don't confuse hope with naivete."

If some Republicans rue the swift and calculated nature they say characterizes Obama's early steps, his campaign advisers say they have needed to move quickly to make up for the months spent waging the extended primary race. They cast the decision on public financing, for example, as motivated partly by timing, with just four full months left until Election Day to provide voters with the vision of Obama they hope to establish.

The scope of Obama's first advertising buy sent an unmistakable signal to McCain and the GOP that, at least initially, the senator from Illinois will invest money in states no Democrat has won in years, including Georgia, Indiana and Alaska. A recent poll for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showed Obama within two points of McCain in Alaska, although well below 50 percent. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe predicted that Indiana "is going to be a dogfight" in the fall, even though Obama lost the primary there in May.

The content of the ad drew plaudits even from some Republicans for its focus on values, tax cuts and welfare reform. "He is not trying to cobble together the old Democratic coalition of interest groups and get 48 percent like John Kerry," Alex Castellanos, a Republican media consultant, said in an e-mail message. "This is not three yards and a cloud of dust. This is an aggressive leap across the 50-yard line to play on Republican turf."

Throughout the past week, other elements of Obama's aggressive outreach were on display. Shifting increasingly toward general-election issues, he met with military officers and a newly formed national security working group. He hit McCain over a secret meeting the Republican held with Hispanics in Chicago -- a hit that is part of his effort to win over a group that backed Clinton overwhelmingly in the primary and could be key to helping him reshape his electoral opportunities to include Western states.

At his meeting with 16 Democratic governors on Friday, the participants, including some of Clinton's most politically important backers, gushed about the degree to which his campaign staff had sought their input, inviting them to Chicago for dinner, putting them onstage with Obama at a briefing and asking each governor to bring in a top political aide who can be involved in planning as the campaign progresses.

"This isn't about 'I'm coming to your state, and can you go do a photo op,' " said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Another Democratic governor, Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan, said the level of contact from the Obama campaign has surpassed any she has ever received from a presidential candidate. "We've never been reached out to in this way," said Granholm, a former Clinton supporter.

Given that he is running in a year in which the political climate is as favorable for the Democrats as it has been in any year in recent memory, one question the Obama team must grapple with is why the presumptive Democratic nominee does not have a more substantial lead over McCain in early polls.

Top advisers point to several factors. First, they acknowledge that the long nomination battle has left scars within the party. Right now, polls show that Obama is winning a smaller share of Democratic support than McCain is winning of Republican support. Campaign officials expect that to change as the summer progresses.

But they also acknowledge that McCain runs better with independent voters than anyone else the GOP might have nominated. By the fall they hope to have drawn enough distinctions with McCain to make those independents think twice about their support for him.

Finally, they argue, they have not yet begun to compete for Republican support, particularly among women who favor abortion rights or GOP voters disaffected with President Bush. In the end, they believe that whichever candidate wins the highest percentage of voters in the other party is likely to be the next occupant of the White House.

WILL BARACK Obama go with the flow or reverse the tide in this year's presidential election? In both 2000 and 2004, the Democratic nominee came within one state of winning the Electoral College, so one could argue that even a slight bump in the party's national popularity will push a few Democratic-trending states into Obama's column and guarantee him a win. The alternative view, forcefully advocated by Hillary Clinton in the primaries, is that the Democrats need to take back states that have drifted away from the party since Bill Clinton left the White House.

Obama is certainly not conceding historically Democratic states where George Bush made significant gains in 2004, but he is signaling a preference to fight in places where the GOP showed signs of slippage in the last election. Paradoxically, this path of least resistance could dramatically change the electoral map. At a fund-raiser earlier this month, campaign manager David Plouffe told the crowd that Obama could win the election even if he loses both Florida and Ohio, two states that Bill Clinton carried in 1996.

Also, the Obama campaign recently deployed thousands of volunteers to 17 "key" states, and conspicuously absent from the list are several states that voted for Bill Clinton twice before shifting strongly toward Bush (Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia). Instead, Obama is concentrating on Colorado, North Carolina, and Virginia, which have voted Republican in every election since 1976 but failed to give Bush much of a boost in 2004.

Those three states contain significant splotches of the lighter shading on the map above, which does not show the familiar red vs. blue breakdown of the United States, but instead shows how voting patterns changed between Bush's first and second election. (Darker areas are where Bush enjoyed a significant boost; lighter areas are where he received little or no benefit from running as the incumbent.) One striking aspect about the map is how closely it resembles the results of the Democratic primaries and caucuses this year. Obama ran best on the mid-Atlantic coast and in the northern reaches of the West Coast, the Rocky Mountain states, and the Midwest, where the beginnings of a backlash against the GOP could be discerned four years ago. He was weaker in the Appalachians, the New York City area, and southern California, where Bush had flexed the most muscle in 2004 and where Democrats may be the most nervous about their chances of taking the White House back this year.

Overall, Obama won 60 percent of the primary/caucus vote in counties where Bush's share of the vote fell between 2000 and 2004. These included much of northern Virginia, the Durham and Charlotte areas of North Carolina, and the metro areas of St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio. At the same time, Obama got only 36 percent of the primary/caucus vote in counties where Bush gained at least five points in his second run. These included not only central Florida and nearly all of Tennessee, but also most of New Jersey and large chunks of Pennsylvania, the latter two carried by John Kerry in 2004. It would be ironic if Obama snatched Colorado and even such traditionally Republican states as Montana and North Dakota but still lost the election because New Jersey floated away from the Democrats.

Indeed, Obama's Colorado strategy is something of a leap of faith, as the last three Democrats to capture the White House each did so by erasing trends from the previous election. In 1960, John F. Kennedy surged in places where moderate Republican Dwight Eisenhower had made inroads (including most of the Northeast) during the 1950s.

And Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton both dramatically increased their party's performance in rural and Southern areas four years after those areas turned sharply against Northern nominees (George McGovern and Michael Dukakis).

Unfortunately for the Democratic Party, Carter and Clinton were able to reverse their party's losses in states like Kentucky and Tennessee only temporarily. Republicans Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush had little trouble sweeping the Southern interior in 1980 and 2000. So it may not be worth it for Obama to try winning back those Appalachian Democrats he lost so badly in the primaries. If he's thinking ahead to 2012 and beyond, finally pushing states like Colorado into the Democratic column may be a more promising strategy.

ALBUQUERQUE, June 23 -- As Hillary Rodham Clinton prepared to return to life in the Senate and announced that she will campaign with Sen. Barack Obama in New Hampshire on Friday, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee began reaching out to female voters who had formed the backbone of Clinton's support in the primary season.

Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke by phone Sunday night, the first time the presumptive Democratic nominee and his former rival have exhanged words since their private meeting in Washington weeks ago.

Clinton and Obama discussed retiring Clinton's over $10 million in campaign debt, a conversation Democratic sources called "constructive".

They also discussed their forthcoming joint fundraising appearance in Washington on Thursday and the first campaign appearance together in Unity, New Hampshire, on Friday.

Sen. Clinton conceded the Democratic race to Obama on Saturday, June 7, just four days after splitting the final two primary contests in South Dakota and Montana.

The pair held a secret meeting in Washington at the home of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a Clinton supporter, prior to Clinton's concession but had not spoken since that time.

By George Stephanopoulos, ABC News, June 23, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are planning their first joint general election appearance Friday in Unity, N.H.

The location was announced Monday. It was chosen not only for the symbolism of its name, but because each candidate received exactly 107 votes there in the Jan. 8 primary that Clinton won. New Hampshire is a critical battleground state in November.

The rally will be the morning after the two meet privately Thursday at a Washington hotel with former Clinton donors.

By NEDRA PICKLER, The Associated Press, June 23, 2008

The girl, Aleatha Williams, a campaign volunteer and the daughter of a supporter, introduced the senator to fellow graduates from Pelham Preparatory Academy in the Bronx as "my aunt."

Clinton said she had known Aleatha "and her wonderful mother, Patricia," since the girl was 2 and had promised her when she graduated from eighth grade that she would attend her high school graduation.

The New York senator ended her campaign for the Democratic nomination for president on June 7 and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who has clinched the nomination.

She invoked the campaign to urge the 86 graduates to achieve success.

Changed 'view of women'

"No one five years ago, no one four years ago, when I attended Aleatha's graduation lunch, could have predicted that an African-American and a woman would have been competing for the presidency of the United States in 2008," Clinton said.

Pelham Preparatory Academy was founded in 2002 as part of an initiative to improve graduation rates by carving up some of the city's large high schools into smaller, more manageable units.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who attended the school's commencement ceremony at nearby Fordham University, said students should always remember that an American hero spoke at their graduation.

"She changed America's view of women," Klein said. "Someday soon, very soon in America, we will have a woman as president. And you know what that woman will say? 'I would not be here had it not been for Hillary Rodham Clinton.'"

Parent Irma Hudson, whose daughter Stephanie Solis was among the graduates, said Clinton's presence was exciting.

"I think she still serves as a role model for the children in this community," Hudson said. "You don't fail, you just keep on trying."

The Associated Press, June 23, 2008