Delicately, Team Clinton Gets Behind Obama

Hillary's camp offers support in exchange for aid on debt
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 26, 2008 8:24 AM CDT
Delicately, Team Clinton Gets Behind Obama
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama stand together before the start of a Democratic presidential debate in Cleveland. Clinton needs Obama's donors to help retire her sizable debt. Obama, who's forgoing public funds for the general election, could use her donors to boost his ample fundraising.   (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Under the eye of one of Washington's most powerful lawyers, Barack Obama is negotiating with Hillary Clinton over a tangle of issues, from how to retire her campaign debt to what role she will play in this summer's convention. The Democratic party is slowly recovering from its bruising primary fight with the aid of Robert Barnett, who brokered book deals for Obama and both Clintons, the New York Times reports.

Obama has asked his big donors to help with Clinton's debt, and she will introduce Obama to some of her top contributors tonight. Obama is in talks to hire Clinton's policy director, Neera Tanden. The two Democrats have spoken on the phone a few times since her concession. "Hillary is 100% behind making sure that Barack gets elected president," said top Clintonite Terry McAuliffe. But among the major allies having trouble supporting the nominee: Bill Clinton, who has still not spoken to Obama. (More Hillary Clinton stories.)

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