Barack, Hillary Tangle For Bill's Brain Trust

Democratic hopefuls Clinton and Obama are competing for the loyalties of Bill Clinton’s foreign policy advisers, Newsweek's Michael Hirsh reveals. While Hillary has poached a few mid-level aides from her husband's administration, several are informally allying with Obama—including counter-terrorism expert Richard Clarke, who has begun advising the Illinois Senator.

“The Obama pitch is, 'You'll never be in the inner circle' with Hillary” one Clinton aide says. Hirsh claims that Obama supporters are getting nervous that a perceived disloyalty may be remembered in a putative Clinton administration. The Clinton camp denies any such pressure, instead distancing itself from Bill Clinton’s pre-9/11 foreign policy. A Clinton aide says that “in seven months we’re all going to be on the same team.” (More Election 2008 stories.)