According to the LA Times, ardent Hillary Clinton supporter and top donor Jill Iscol spoke with Barack Obama by phone, and the sacrosanct topic of the Veepstakes came up:

Obama replied that (Hillary Clinton) is on his list, Iscol recounted, and that it would be a mistake not to have her on such a list. But he also explained that he was thinking through a potential "complication" -- Bill Clinton.

"He said once you're a president, even if you're a former president, you're always a president," Iscol said.

..."I said nobody has been vetted the way she has been vetted," Iscol said. "We need to pick the most qualified, wisest, smartest, experienced person to serve our country alongside of Barack Obama. And I think it's Hillary Clinton. We need her, and the party needs her, and it will be a ticket that will steamroll its way to the White House."

This could be a good news-bad news situation for Hillary's chances at a VP nod. On the one hand, it shows she is still in contention, but on the other, it seems to indicate that the Bubba-Barack rift may be more steak than sizzle.

Further complicating matters is the fact that Iscol went public with the information. If this is the kind of discretion Obama can expect from the Clinton camp, Obama may be persuaded to pick someone whose supporters are more "team players."

Insiders close to both candidates have indicated to me that Hillary's selection would be helped by a "cooling off" by both camps of supporters. It's a delicate dance, and Iscol seems to have two left feet.

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.

Or at least, better than the current bad buzz in the media would suggest.

According to a source who is very well-placed with the Clinton campaign, the prospect of a Dream Ticket of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is alive and well.

According to the source, now that the general election has begun, certain political realities are beginning to gel within the Obama campaign, things that bode well for Hillary's selection.

Well, that went as expected. It will be interesting to see what the spin on this is. It was a feel-good event, and Hillary spoke beautifully, but I want to see what she's like stumping by herself. I bet she really lets McCain have it then.

2:02 Ah, no Dream Ticket. Yet!

2:01 Can you imagine sitting next to him on a plane? "Can we get some extra peanuts here? Yes, We Can!"

1: 55 We will recruit an army of teachers? "Sing you're A-B-C's, you maggot!"

1: 51 "...they can do it better than the boys, and they can do it in heels!" That was a little clumsy. Hillary looks like she's having fun. "I still don't know how she does it in heels." Maybe we can get him a pair.

1: 47 I want Barack Obama to speak at my son's birthday party. "He has worked tirelessly to remove every diaper, to scatter every pot and pan, to make sure that no wall, and no piece of furniture, has to go without random crayon markings.



Aha! Live video! Thanks to Diana.

Update: I spoke with a well-placed source in Hillary Clinton's campaign, who told me a couple of interesting things. He said Obama will definitely not be picking a VP just to win a state, and that the short list now includes Hillary, Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, and maybe Chuck Hagel. I've got a good feeling about this.


He also said, as I have, that Obama is doing so surprisingly well against McCain that he can pretty much pick his own ticket, but that the longer the choice takes, the better it is for Hillary.


Also, here's video of Bayh telling Andrea Mitchell today that he would say yes if asked to be VP.


The Obama campaign has sent out the final details on the candidate's first joint campaign appearance with Senator Hillary Clinton.

CHICAGO, IL- Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama will hold a "Unite for Change" Rally this Friday in Unity, New Hampshire. Both candidates received exactly 107 votes in the western New Hampshire town in the primary. See below for important event details regarding ticketing and parking.

Full text of the press release follows the jump. There's one detail that is omitted here, and that is whether or not Barack Obama will announce Hillary Clinton as his selection for Vice President.

This comes on the heels of Barack Obama's appeal to donors, Wednesday, to help pay down Hillary's campaign debt, and a reported meet 'n greet today between Obama and Hillary's big donors. There's magic in the air!

Ordinarily, I'm not a betting man, but one of my readers issued a challenge that I couldn't just ignore. Since tomorrow is so fraught with symbolism, I have a feeling in me bones, so I'd like to give my readers, and fellow writers, a chance to get in on this. To find out why I'm so sure there will be a Dream Ticket, just click the words Dream Ticket.

Update: Further details on Hillary Clinton's first campaign appearance with Barack Obama were released today by the Obama campaign. Via email:

FRIDAY: Senators Clinton and Obama to Campaign Together in Town of Unity, New Hampshire

Candidates received 107 votes apiece in Granite State town

CHICAGO, IL- Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama announced today that they will hold a "Unite for Change" Rally this Friday in Unity, New Hampshire. Both candidates received exactly 107 votes in the western New Hampshire town in the primary.

That's a nice bit of symmetry there. This will be an important event to watch.

The Obama campaign sent out the following press release this morning, via email:

Chicago, IL – Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton announced today that they will campaign together on Friday, June 27th. Further details to be announced soon.

That's it, that's the whole thing. Remember, you heard it here first.

Why the tease? That's not the usual MO. Does this portend, um, I don't know, a (echo-y voice) DREAM TICKET?!?!?

Time will tell, but you can keep checking back here for details as they are released. At the very least, their first stump appearance together will give us some clues.

The Obama campaign sent out the following press release this morning, via email:

Chicago, IL – Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton announced today that they will campaign together on Friday, June 27th. Further details to be announced soon.

That's it, that's the whole thing. Remember, you heard it here first.

Why the tease? That's not the usual MO. Does this portend, um, I don't know, a (echo-y voice) DREAM TICKET?!?!?

Time will tell, but you can keep checking back here for details as they are released. At the very least, their first stump appearance together will give us some clues.

John Dickerson at Slate breaks down the myth, versus the reality, of the influence that embittered Hillary Clinton supporters will actually have in this election. He likens it to a "Snipe Hunt," but I thought "Chupacabra" sounded funnier, and those have actually been found.

We're going on a snipe hunt. The quarry: women who supported Hillary and, now that she's lost, will leave the Democrats to vote for McCain. Unlike a true snipe hunt, where you never find your prey, these politically prized voters can be found. In fact, they seem to be everywhere. Hillary supporters leave angry e-mails in my inbox, and they are the topic of stories across the media spectrum, from NPR to Fox News to Slate's "XX Factor." Everyone's got an anecdote. Why, just the other day, a woman told me ...

I can back Dickerson up on the angry e-mails, comments, etc. Until today, however, I hadn't stopped to realize that I've never actually met one of them in person.

Let's start with the math. Clinton says 18 million people voted for her. That's about 13 percent of the electorate. Obama wins about 80 percent of the Clinton supporters in a recent poll, which means that the coveted Clinton-for-McCain voters represent about 2.6 percent of the electorate. These voters matter only if they live in one of the 20 or so swing states-they're not going to win Massachusetts for McCain. This means the total number of voters he needs to convince and hold onto is small.

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.

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