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 USA Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a detente Thursday they will both be nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention this month in Denver and the joint statement the pair issued about the largely ceremonial roll call gave no hint of the tensions that marked the long primary struggle including Clinton’s campaign debt and some loyalists who still say she should have won.

Obama clinched the nomination in June when he won the support of the more than 2,118 delegates needed. The statement said Obamas campaign encouraged Clintons name to be placed in nomination as a show of unity and in recognition of the historic race she ran and the fact that she was the first woman to compete in all of our nation’s primary contests. Obama the 1^st black nominee of a major party said a roll call including both of them will celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together. Clinton said Democrats would emerge with every voice heard and the party strongly united. The announcement drew enthusiastic responses from Clinton fans. She is going to get her moment. She really earned this said Taylor Marsh a stalwart Clinton defender and promoter during the primary season on her blog Taylor Marsh.com. Vote Both a group formed to push for Clinton for vice president called the plan a big win for Obama and Clinton. Obama showed that he is a leader who unites the Democratic Party spokesman Sam Arora said in a statement.

He is giving former Clinton supporters more and more reasons to support him. Clinton is slated to speak at the convention as the headliner on Tuesday night Aug. 26^th just before a keynote address by former Virginia governor and current Senate candidate Mark Warner. Obama spokesman Bill Burton said we haven’t worked out the mechanics of when the roll-call vote of the states will be held. He suggested some Clinton delegates could switch to Obama in the roll call. She is going to be encouraging her supporters to vote for Obama at the convention, Burton said, adding that she is telling them that right now. It is not clear if any will listen. Allida Black of Arlington Va a Clinton delegate who put her heart soul and retirement savings into the campaign said she is sticking with Clinton even though it will be symbolic. He will win on the first ballot she said of Obama who clinched the nomination June 3 and though there’s no sign Obama is considering Clinton for vice president, Black Marsh and others say they have not given up hope. Jill Iscol a Clinton fundraiser said Thursday that the party and the country would be absolutely electrified by an Obama-Clinton ticket.

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Funeral duty is not something that Barack Obamas vice president need worry much about the presumptive Democratic nominee says and Obama refused again and again during an interview that aired Sunday to give hints on whom he might pick for a running mate, but he did describe the qualities he is looking for. Shyness and blind loyalty are not among them I am going to want somebody with independence who’s willing to tell me where he thinks or she thinks I am wrong Obama said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press the remark came in the twilight of the Bush White House an administration famous and much-criticized for the value it has placed on loyalty within its ranks whomever he or she may turn out to be Obamas running mate will be hired for more than a ceremonial role according to the candidate and we are going to have a lot of problems and a lot of work to do and I am not interested in a vice president who I just send off to go to funerals the Illinois senator said many of the Democratic tickets of recent elections have included someone from the South a geographic credential that some Republicans say proved troublesome for GOP candidates. Obama would not bite on questions about whether he would continue that trend. He did say he wants someone who can complement him in the sense that provide a knowledge base or an area of expertise that can be useful. The only person Obama would acknowledge is on his short list of running mates includes Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. This one I can actually answer because I have said consistently that I think Hillary Clinton would be on anybody’s short list Obama said. She is one of the most effective intelligent courageous leaders that we have in the Democratic Party and even if it meant Bill Clinton a volatile presence during his wife’s campaign as a surrogate day in and day out? I would love to have Bill Clinton campaigning for me Obama said. He was very effective when it came to our primary you know. He was traveling to little towns in Texas and Ohio and it was very hard to keep up and others were also asked about their status as a running mate during Sunday’s talk show rounds, including the 2 senators that traveled with Obama to the Middle East last week. Both downplayed the possibilities. No one has talked to me about it. I fully expect that Barack Obama will choose someone in his own party said Hagel a Republican from Nebraska who has been the foremost Republican critic of the war in Iraq. I have thought about this and I am very committed and very dedicated to pursuing a career in the United States Senate said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I but Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. didn’t brush off the prospect. She said she thought that just about anybody in Washington would be thrilled to be asked to be vice president. I would like to meet somebody who wouldn’t McCaskill said. If they are saying they wouldn’t I don’t think that they are being as candid or as up front with the American people as probably they should be.

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USA the silence between Barack Obama and Bill Clinton has been broken with the Democratic White House hopeful on Monday asking the former president to campaign for him during their first conversation since the heated primary. Bill Clinton was often Obama’s harshest Democratic critic trying to bring down the Illinois senator as his candidacy surpassed former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s. While Hillary Clinton has begun to help Obama by encouraging her supporters and fundraisers to back his campaign a chill remained between the last Democratic president and the man running to be the next 1 Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Obama is honored to have the former president’s support and he has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation’s great leaders and most brilliant minds and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come Burton said Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna said the former president renewed his offer expressed in a one sentence statement last week to do whatever he can to ensure Obama wins the presidency and President Clinton continues to be impressed by Senator Obama and the campaign he has run and looks forward to campaigning for and with him in the months to come McKenna said. The president believes that Senator Obama has been a great inspiration for millions of people around the country and he knows that he will bring the change America needs as our next president. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama called Clinton Monday morning and they spoke for about 20 min. Gibbs said Obama asked Clinton to campaign with him and on his own. Bill Clinton was in Europe last week and did not attend last Fridays rally with his wife and Obama in the symbolic town of Unity New Hampshire. Obama said it was appropriate that he appear alone with his former rival since they waged a historic race between a black man and a woman. Bill Clinton was an outspoken critic of Obama during the primaries. He said Obama’s opposition to the Iraq war was a fairy tale and raised questions about whether the first term senator had the experience to lead the country. During one debate Obama snapped at Hillary Clinton I can’t tell who I am running against sometimes.

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Pressure is building on Hillary Clinton to ace her noon concession speech Saturday as Democratic leaders expect her to heal the divisive wounds of the primary and at the same time signal to the 18 million voters who backed her that it is time to close ranks behind former rival Barack Obama. Clinton drew the ire of her party after she failed to acknowledge Obamas historic achievement Tuesday when the Illinois senator earned the delegates to be the first black presidential nominee of a major party and so she is expected to be many things when she bows out in Washington D.C gracious- conciliatory- authentic self less and 100 percent behind her former rival. As she keeps reminding us 18 million voted for her and some of them are still waiting for a signal and she has to give them that signal said Ted Sorensen former adviser and speech writer for President Kennedy. Sorensen an Obama supporter told FOXNews.com Clinton should admire and salute her former opponent and urge her donors and supporters to follow. Sorensen was also an adviser to Sen. Ted Kennedys 1980 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and Clinton may look to the tone set by Sen. Kennedys concession speech given under similar but more extreme circumstances. The speech delivered after Kennedy took his underdog fight against incumbent President Carter all the way to the August convention and lost didn’t lead Carter and the Democrats to victory but was widely praised and well received. Kennedy congratulated Carter while still acknowledging a hard fought campaign. There were concerns that Kennedy upstaged Carter but with Obamas oratorical reputation Clinton probably will not run that risk. Kennedys speech a broad statement on party and country ended memorably with the line For me a few hours ago this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern the work goes on the cause endures the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. Clinton has been admonished to leave no question about her support for Obama. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Clinton should give a very positive statement of support on Saturday. The biggest problem Hillary Clinton has is she has to alter the perception that she is not interested in party unity. I think she reinforced that perception with her non concession concession Tuesday night said Kevin Madden former spokesman for Mitt Romney during his campaign against John McCain for the GOP nomination. Madden consulted Romney on his concession speech delivered after a bitter battle against McCain. There is an old saying in politics If they are gonna run you out of town get in front and make it look like a parade Madden said and I think that’s what she is going to try to do. Madden said Clinton has to acknowledge the obvious divisions of the primary race but then show her unwavering dedication to getting Obama elected. He said she will have to project the image of a sunny enthusiastic surrogate. Republicans are already starting to use the Democrats primary battle against Obama circulating videos of Clintons criticism of him touching on everything from the Illinois senators supposed inexperience to his ties to unsavory characters

but Madden said Republicans are engaging in mutually assured destruction with that tactic since there are just as many videos in cyberspace showing Republicans hammering McCain. Obama and Clinton moved to patch up some of their differences when they held a secret meeting Thursday at the Washington D.C. home of Clinton supporter Sen. Dianne Feinstein. They released few details but Feinstein said they emerged from the hour long meeting laughing. Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe told reporters Friday that Clinton will give a great speech Saturday. She will do anything. She has made that clear. She will do anything she can to help Barack Obama. If he wants her to travel every day she will do that McAuliffe said. He spoke as Clintons staffers gathered at the New York senators D.C. home Friday for a good bye party. Meanwhile Obama has shown growing confidence since clinching the nomination. He was buoyant Friday when he showed up for an event celebrating the selection of Chicago as a finalist city for the 2016 Olympics. In the interests of full disclosure I have to let you know that in 2016 I will be wrapping up my second term as president he told the cheering Chicago crowd. Obama may be seeing a bump in the polls after being released from his fight with Clinton. The Rasmussen Reports tracking poll Friday showed Obama with a lead of 5 percentage points over McCain 45 to 40 percent and thats up from a 2-point lead earlier in the week. Obama was trailing McCain last week in that poll. Democratic congressional leaders are expected to come together next week to formally endorse Obama as their candidate. The next big question facing the presumptive Democratic nominee is whether to tap Clinton as his running mate something Clintons backers are lobbying for vigorously. Feinstein and others say she will help him carry certain constituencies working class female and Hispanic voters  especially as McCain works to court frustrated Clinton supporters for the general election. Clintons campaign announced Thursday that she is not seeking the vice presidency. But her performance Saturday also could play a factor in whether she is considered for a role in an Obama administration as running mate or in some other post. Sorensen the former Kennedy adviser said Saturdays address will be a chance for her to lift her reputation and Clinton probably should decide soon what she really wants.

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Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama met Thursday night at an unannounced location in Washington DC senior Democratic sources tell FOX News. There are no details yet on the agenda of the meeting or who sought it but sources tell FOX News it was taking place at the D.C. home of California Sen. Dianne Fienstein a prominent Clinton supporter. Since Tuesday, when Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination speculation has turned to who he would choose as his running mate and whether it would be Clinton. The Clinton campaign released a statement Thursday stressing that the running mate decision is up to Sen. Obama, and that Sen. Clinton is not seeking the vice presidency. Obama has indicated he intends to take his time making a decision. On Wednesday he named a three-person vice presidential vetting team that included Caroline Kennedy daughter of the late President Kennedy. The meeting Thursday between Obama and Clinton comes a day after Clintons campaign said she planned to suspend the campaign and hold an event Saturday to thank her supporters and endorse Obama as the Democratic nominee for president. In an E mail to supporters Clinton wrote On Saturday I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard fought campaign. I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Partys nominee and I intend to deliver on that promise.

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 Hillary Clinton plans to drop out of the Democratic presidential race this weekend and throw her support behind Barack Obama sources say closing out a hard fought and protracted primary after her opponent clinched the nomination with an avalanche of superdelegates Tuesday. The Clinton campaign announced late Wednesday that it would be hosting an event in Washington D.C to thank her supporters and express her support for Senator Obama and party unity. The campaign initially scheduled the rally for Friday but later shifted it to Saturday to accommodate more of Senator Clintons supporters who want to attend. One senior Clinton adviser told FOX News the New York senator and one-time favorite for the nomination told her campaign staff members Wednesday that Friday will be their last day and that she plans to bow out of the race. The announcement brought to an end the historic campaign pitting the first serious female candidate against the most viable black contender ever. Clinton also told about 20 House Democratic supporters on a conference call Wednesday afternoon that it was time to bring the party together.According to a senior Democratic source on Capitol Hill she acknowledged there were two wings in the party right now and it was her obligation to unite them. Democratic sources also have said Clinton will suspend her campaign rather than close it down entirely. By suspending her campaign Clinton would retain nominal control of her delegates and could continue to raise money to pay off campaign debts. She also would allow late primary states to finish up the process of electing pro Clinton delegates to the August convention. Clintons Friday exit was foreshadowed early Wednesday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Party Chairman Howard Dean and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to uncommitted superdelegates urging them to endorse a candidate no later than Friday. Pelosi said it was clear Obama is the nominee and that Democrats should rally around him. Numerous Democratic sources told FOX News that Reid would never have put his name on that letter if he were not certain Clintons campaign would soon be winding down. As Obama secured the nomination with a tidal wave of superdelegate endorsements and later a victory in the final Democratic primary Tuesday night in Montana Clinton notably did not concede or even recognize his delegate majority and that left many wondering how and when she would wind down her campaign. In the Wednesday conference call with lawmakers Clinton did not announce a timeline for her withdrawal but she made it clear her campaign was drawing to a close. Several House members on the call urged Clinton to end the campaign as soon as possible one source said. When asked about being Obamas running mate on the call Clinton said she was not campaigning for the position but will do whatever she is asked to do to help the party win in November.

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In the latest sign Hillary Clinton isn t yet preparing to bow out of the presidential race the New York senator is launching a new television ad  monday that highlights her claim she is beating Barack Obama in the popular vote. The spot is set to run in the remaining two primary states Montana and South Dakota and argues Clinton has won more votes than anyone in the history of the Democratic primaries. Some say there isn t a single reason for Hillary to be the Democratic nominee the ad’s announcer states. They are right. There are over 17 million of them. Clinton echoed that argument in her Puerto Rican victory speech Sunday evening, declaring, “When the voting concludes on Tuesday I will lead the popular vote. The decision [on who will be the nominee] will fall on the shoulders of those leaders in our party empowered by the rules to vote at the Democratic Convention she also said. Clintons claim to winning the popular vote is debatable. Including the results from Clintons big win in Puerto Rico she can only be considered the popular vote winner if the results from Michigan where Obama was not on the ballot are counted for her and Obama is awarded no votes from that state. But 237,762 voted uncommitted in that contest and the Obama campaign argues many of them were supporters of the Illinois senator. In that scenario Clinton holds a lead of 183,000 votes. But if Obama is awarded the uncommitted votes in Michigan he comes out on top in the overall popular vote by 55,000 votes. Of all votes cast that margin constitutes a difference of 0.1 percent. Both scenarios don’t include results from the non-binding primaries in Idaho and Nebraska.

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Hillary Clinton and her supporters are making what may be their last stand at a Democratic Party meeting this weekend in Washington D.C. When a rules panel of the Democratic National Committee takes up the issue of disputed Michigan and Florida primaries Saturday morning Clintons campaign will continue to argue that the delegations from both states should be seated in full. The Florida Michigan decision is practically her only remaining chance of securing a tidal wave of delegates. As of Friday the New York senator was more than 200 delegates behind Barack Obama and in the three primaries left to go she cannot win enough to make up that difference.

We are hopeful and confident that after having a full blown discussion all the delegates will be seated 100 percent all of them will have a full vote. Clinton adviser Harold Ickes said in a conference call with reporters Friday. Clinton won both states but their delegations were stripped for holding early primaries in violation of party rules. The options before the Rules and Bylaws Committee on Saturday are to restore the delegates in full restore part of the delegation or uphold the original penalty. Obama has said he is willing to have some delegates seated and party leaders have expressed hope that DNC Chairman Howard Dean can broker a compromise to ensure party unity come June. Clintons campaign though is encouraging supporters to head to the meeting Saturday to protest. These people are coming. They are going to speak. They are going to peacefully say and we support whats going on in this room. We want them to be part of the entire picture of the Democratic Party. Clinton adviser Tina Flournoy said Friday objecting to anybody who tries to describe the scene as chaos or a circus. In a letter to the committee Friday the campaigns general counsel said the possibility of no delegates being seated is an unacceptable outcome. The letter said that the campaign wants all delegates restored and disputed a DNC lawyers assessment that the committee is unable to restore more than half of the delegates.This conclusion is incorrect the letter said arguing that the committee can forgive violations when positive steps have been taken to come into compliance. The vexing question is how the delegates would be allocated even if they were counted. Neither candidate campaigned in the states and Obama was not even on the ballot in Michigan. Many Michigan voters who favored Obama registered their support by voting uncommitted. A Florida proposal suggests reducing the states delegation by half while Michigan Democrats have proposed splitting the delegates, giving Clinton 69 and Obama 59 but the Clinton campaign says since not all uncommitted voters in Michigan wanted Obama it would be arbitrary to execute such a plan. DNC member Joel Ferguson a Clinton supporter also said that plan is fatally flawed. If you are going to solve breaking rules you can’t do it by having a new set of rules he told FOX News adding that Obama shouldn’t get extra points for taking his name off the Michigan ballot. Committee Co Chairman James Roosevelt said it’s possible the issue could be appealed to the Credentials Committee if there’s no agreement this weekend but party officials already have said they will step in to prevent this fight from going to the August convention. The Clinton campaign in its letter even stated that the rules committee should resolve the issue promptly and discussed the possibility of seating the delegations from both states with half votes. That would be a compromise from the Clinton campaign. Though she is pushing for a complete reversal of the original DNC decision on Michigan and Florida, that alone would not save her ailing campaign. Even if all the two states 313 pledged delegates were allocated with no votes for Obama from Michigan Clinton would get 178 to Obamas 67, closing the gap by 111 votes according to The Associated Press. Obama with 1,984 delegates is just 42 shy of the 2,026 it takes to clinch the nomination. Clinton is at 1,782.The Obama campaign acknowledges that Saturdays decision may increase the number of delegates it takes to win but says the race will still be over soon. Montana and South Dakota hold the final Democratic primaries in the country Tuesday after Puerto Rico holds its contest Sunday.As long as by Tuesday Senator Obamas campaign ends with more pledged delegates  and there’s no mathematical way that does not happen  he is clearly gonna be the nominee by almost every measure said Chris Kofinis former spokesman for Democratic candidate John Edwards and if that happens you are gonna see a wave of superdelegates go his way.

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