Update: The Obama campaign Released the Following statement this afternoon, via email:

"Senator Obama had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is honored to have his support in this campaign. 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," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

6/24/2008 - When Senator Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign, and offered her "full throated support" to Barack Obama, his future got so bright, he had to wear shades. Now, on the heels of news that she will be campaigning with him in Unity, N.H., this Friday, comes the endorsement that could bounce Obama right into the White House. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the former President of the United States, Mr. William Jefferson Clintoooon! (through a spokesmaaaaan.) From Reuters:

"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," Clinton's spokesman Matt McKenna told Reuters in a one-sentence e-mail.

Wow:

Mr Obama is expected to speak to Mr Clinton for the first time since he won the nomination in the next few days, but campaign insiders say that the former president's future campaign role is a "sticking point" in peace talks with Mrs Clinton's aides.

The Telegraph has learned that the former president's rage is still so great that even loyal allies are shocked by his patronising attitude to Mr Obama, and believe that he risks damaging his own reputation by his intransigence.

A senior Democrat who worked for Mr Clinton has revealed that he recently told friends Mr Obama could "kiss my ass" in return for his support.

You stay classy, Mr. Ex-President. Now what do you think are the chances of Obama doing anything like this. I'm pretty sure his response would be, "You first, Bill."

Bill Clinton took a pass on an opportunity to MoveOn and endorse Senator Obama on Sunday, opting instead to shake hands, kiss babies, and effusively praise Senator Obama's energy and environmental policies as, meh, better than the Republicans' anyway.

It was President Clinton's first public appearance since his wife's suspension of her campaign. According to Reuters, when asked whether he would soon be endorsing Senator Obama, Clinton "smiled and shook hands with spectators without acknowledging he heard the question."

Later on at the same event, President Clinton addressed Senator Obama's carbon emissions plan. "Because I believe so strongly in this," he said, "I favor Senator Obama's position, which is to go to 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gasses over Senator McCain's position, which is to go to 70 percent. But that's light years ahead of where Republicans have been." That statement roughly translates to "Obama and McCain are both light years ahead of Bush, but Obama wins slightly ... I guess."

As Hot Air notes, President Clinton seemed to swear off the campaign trail in a statement earlier this month, saying "I want to say also, that this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," at a town hall event June 2. If this latest event is at all diagnostic, I'd say he's keeping to that plan.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said yesterday that President Bush supports lifting the ban on oil and gas exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf and will formally ask Congress to lift the federal moratoria preventing drilling off the nation's coasts.

"The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time. He will explicitly call on Congress to ... pass legislation lifting the congressional ban on safe, environmentally friendly offshore oil drilling."

The move by the White House is something of a coordinated effort with Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, who yesterday called for lifting the drilling ban.

Congress has prevented the Interior Department from initiating offshore drilling leases since 1981 by refusing to approve funds for that purpose. There is also an Executive Order, signed by the first President Bush, preventing drilling. The Executive Order has been extended by President Clinton and President George W. Bush until 2012. The president has not yet announced whether he would rescind the order as part of his effort to get Congress to act on the drilling ban; but should he do so, it would be a strong indication that his Administration intends to pressure Congress over gas prices throughout the summer driving season and the fall election season. For its part, Congress has other plans. A group of lawmakers is considering an extension to the drilling ban, with the House Appropriations Committee set to consider the measure today.

Barack Obama's selection of Solis Doyle to be Chief of Staff for whoever becomes the VP pick has some Clinton supporters, as Senator Obama might say, hysterical.

Doyle is an extremely controversial figure in Clinton circles. Her departure from her role as campaign manager for Hillary was contentious, and Clinton insiders suspect her as a possible source for the recent, unfavorable Vanity Fair article about President Bill Clinton. Some loyalists think she is shopping a "McClellan" with various publishers.

Some supporters are calling it a "slap in the face" or much, much worse. Conventional wisdom is forming that this is a signal that the Dream Ticket will remain just that, a fantasy.

Read on for some Clinton supporters' quotes and Hillary's response.

And it fits like a glove...

Says Davis (via WaPo):

Fox has always treated me with respect and given me a chance to express my point of view. Does Fox have a conservative slant on some of their programs? Yes. They're giving me a chance to provide a counterpoint, and that's all I can ask.

Clinton über-supporter Lanny Davis will join Karl Rove, Brit Hume, Chris Wallace, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Newt Gingrich and that god-awful After Hours thing. I suppose he'll be pushed as further proof of Fair and Balanced - a liberal! Or maybe not...

Video from TPM

Well there's not much evidence of an actual impending end of "Billary" in this poorly sourced article. Just a lot of open speculation, but this is the best quote:

The First Post quoted a source close to Mrs Clinton's staff saying: "Why on earth would she stay with him now? It's over. The feeling is that she can do better in the Senate without him, and better if she wants to take another shot at the White House in 2012."

Again, it's just speculation from a better source, with just a hint that it might reflect from strategic thinking on the campaigns part. Personally, I doubt it. If she hasn't divorced him by now considering what he's put her through, it's not going to happen over. Quid pro quo notwithstanding. And imagine how a divorce now would enhance her reputation, that she didn't care about the infidelity, but sinking her presidential chances, that's suitcase packing time!

Face Off is back! Two of our writers will be posting separate pieces on a hot-button topic. You can check out both and then vote for the one that speaks to you and aligns with your views.

Today the topic is the pros and cons of an Obama/Clinton ticket. Dreamy or nightmarish?



Tommy Christopher writes:

Should Barack Obama pick Hillary Clinton to be his vice president? Never has such an obvious answer been so hotly debated. The answer really only depends on one factor: How much does Barack Obama want to win by in November? Read more

Mark Impomeni writes:

The greatest danger that the Clintons pose for Obama comes not from their detractors, but from the Clintons themselves. And, ironically, it is here that Sen. Clinton's large following argues against her selection as Obama's running mate.... Read More

As the echoes of Hillary Clinton's concession die down somewhat, and turn into a low buzz about her chances of being named VP, Camille Paglia over at Salon throws an unusually wet blanket on the idea of a "Dream Ticket."

Hillary for veep? Are you mad? What party nominee worth his salt would chain himself to a traveling circus like the Bill and Hillary Show? If the sulky bearded lady wasn't biting the new president's leg, the oafish carnival barker would be sending in the clowns to lure all the young ladies into back-of-the-tent sword-swallowing. It would be a seamy orgy of scheming and screwing. Hillary could never be content with second place. But neither could an alpha male like Obama. The vice president should be an accomplished but subordinate personality. An Obama-Hillary ticket might tickle party regulars, but it would be a big fat minus in the general election. Republicans have shrewdly stockpiled a mammoth arsenal of past scandals to strafe Hillary with. Only a sentimental masochist would want to relive the tawdry 1990s.

I've heard Camille interviewed before, heard people talk about her, but never actually read anything by her. She pulled off a neat trick here. She got me to completely disagree with her, yet want to go out and buy all of her books.

Actually, there were other, less colorfully written, things in the piece that I did agree with.

It's the question on every political pundit's mind: Should Barack Obama choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate on the Democratic ticket? Most of the arguments in favor hinge on Sen. Clinton's performance in swing states in this year's primary, her support among women voters, a key demographic for Democrats, and her nearly 18 million total votes received in the primary contests. But the answer to the Clinton question may come from Sen. Obama's general view of the Clintons, rather than from any reading of this year's primary results. Fundamentally, Sen. Obama must first decide which view of the Clintons he ascribes to before making his decision.

The Clintons are viewed by many as a force for good in American politics. Nostalgia for the less complicated times of the 1990s is running high. When the Clintons were in the White House, so the popular history goes, there were no wars, no mortgage troubles, and no rocky economy. If Sen. Obama agrees with this view of the Clintons, than he should choose Sen. Clinton as his running mate. But if he adheres to a different view, one held by an equally large number of Americans, he should back away from that ledge slowly. The Clintons are also viewed as a selfish and ruthlessly ambitious couple willing to do almost anything to secure their own power. Mrs. Clinton's large following from the primaries may serve to kindle all the worst instincts in her, with potentially disastrous consequences for the Obama campaign.