From The Hotline for Friday, June 27, 2008

UNITY

All For One, One For All

Fri. Jun 27, 2008


Hillary Clinton gave Barack Obama "the key to her campaign war chest" at a DC fundraiser 6/26, "but it remains to be seen if her top fundraisers will unlock their checkbooks" for him (Thrush, Newsday, 6/26). The "formal rivals offered generous praise for each other as they implored members" of Clinton's nat'l finance cmte to get behind Obama (Dorning, Chicago Tribune, 6/26). Ex-Clinton chair Terry McAuliffe served as M.C. for the night and "rallied the troops one last time," stating: "This, folks, was a magnificent race...This party is on fire."

Clinton "profusely thanked her supporters" and "lamented that the party had only won three of the last 10 presidential elections." Concluding her speech: "We have to make it a priority in our lives to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States. This was a hard-fought campaign. That's what made it so exciting and intense and why peoples' passions ran so high on both sides. I know my supporters have extremely strong feelings, and I know Barack's do as well. But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win this White House" (Murray, Washington Post, 6/26).

Clinton "asked for nothing from her formal rival and pledged her full support." Obama thanked Clinton and then addressed the 200 Clinton supporters. Obama: "I recognize that this room shares the same passion that a roomful of my supporters would show. I do not expect that passion to be transferred. Senator Clinton is unique, and your relationships with her are unique. Senator Clinton and I at our core agree deeply that this country needs to change" (Zeleny, New York Times, 6/27). He continued: "It was an extraordinary test. I am a better candidate as a consequence of having run against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton" (Jensen, Bloomberg.com, 6/27). "'I'm going to need Hillary by my side campaigning during this election and I'm going to need all of you to get out their checkbooks and start working to make sure Senator Clinton' retire her debt" (Newday.com, 6/26).

CNN's Crowley: "It's kind of like couples therapy here" ("Election Center," 6/26).

To Hillary, Love Barack and Michelle

Obama presented a "check to the Clinton campaign for $4600, representing the maximum legal contribution from both him" and Michelle Obama, followed by a large applause (Chicago Tribune, 6/27). But, the "biggest applause of the evening came" when Obama announced that "he had asked his own high-level donors to contribute to Clinton to help retire" her debt (Chicago Tribune, 6/27). The "announcement sparked a standing ovation from the crowd, many of whom had been reluctant to throw their support -- and their wallets-- behind" Obama (Chuzick, Wall Street Journal, 6/26). Obama finance chair Penny Pritzker "also made the symbolic gesture," and wrote a check "for the maximum amount allowed by law" to Clinton (Bloomberg, 6/27).

Crowley: "Barack Obama put his money where his mouth is. ... He cut her a check for $2,300, which is the maximum amount that Barack Obama could give to her, as did the Obama finance chairman. So she walked out of there $4,600 richer" ("LKL," 6/26).

Ex-WH adviser David Gergen, on Obama: "By him making a contribution, it's much more likely that people in his entourage, his supporters, will also now dig in and make a contribution. So, he had to be the first one over the hill, so to speak in order to get the rest of them to do that. But it is interesting how symbolically -- how important something like this can become to making or breaking a relationship. ... And I am sure that a lot of the credit belongs to Bob Barnett. ... He is a master at sort of bringing people together and figuring out how to put these together. I think there's a lot of Bob Barnett behind all of this" ("AC 360," CNN, 6/26).

Mike Huckabee, on Obama and M. Obama each writing Clinton a $2.3K check: "They can afford it, and it is a good move, and it's a great investment, because it's a way to do something tangible to demonstrate that they are trying to pull their party together" ("Fox & Friends," FNC, 6/27).

Charleston Post and Courier editorializes, Obama's check "proves not just that Sen. Obama can take the high road...but that he can take a hint." He is "making progress toward changing the feelings of Sen. Clinton and her supporters by letting her benefit from his fundraising prowess. Clearly, while money can't buy happiness, it can buy plenty of political good will when properly allocated" (6/27).

Do It, The Big Guy Says So

Before the fundraiser, Pritzker "e-mailed top supporters" and "urged them to start collecting checks. An excerpt from the e-mail:

"As those of you who were on the call yesterday heard, Barack has asked each of us to collect five or six checks to help Sen. Clinton repay the people who provided goods and services to her campaign. He made this request in the spirit of party unity. Sen. Clinton has promised to do everything she can to help us beat John McCain. On Thursday she and Barack are meeting with her biggest fundraisers to ask them to join us in our efforts. On Friday, Barack and Sen. Clinton are making their first public appearance together in Unity, New Hampshire. Already several Clinton supporters are raising money for Barack.

We recognize that this has been a long and, at times, hotly contested campaign. But in the same way Sen. Clinton has asked her supporters to move beyond the primary campaign, Barack has asked us to help in this effort to defray her debt. As he said on the call, 'we are all in this together.'

As Barack made clear on the call, this is important to our effort to bring about the change our country needs. Every time he has asked us to help, we have delivered for him. I am confident we will do the same this time" (Allen, Politico, 6/26).

Oh Happy Day

Positive reactions followed the fundraiser; Clinton supporters left saying that "they were thrilled Mr. Obama adopted a respectful tone in a message that he understood their dedication to the one-time front-runner." Some had been "initially concerned" Dems "may not come together in time for" the Nov. election, but "many of the donors leaving...said they felt a shift toward unity" (Bellatoni, Washington Times, 6/27). Longtime Clinton friend Vernon Jordan: "Time is always a great healer. There's only one issue: winning" (New York Times, 6/27).

Washington Post's Murray: "In some ways, it was like any other fundraiser, an enthusiastic crowd. Both candidates were well-received. In some ways, you didn't know one from the other by the way the crowd responded to each of them. ... Senator Obama, in some ways, was lower-key in his comments. He even said at one point that he accepted the fact and expected that these folks were not necessarily going to fall in love with him. ... He was sort of the soft-seller. And Senator Clinton, in some ways, was more enthusiastic and optimistic about this election" ("AC 360," CNN, 6/26).

Clinton supporter Bill White, who attended the meeting: "Overall, the meeting went well. I think it was very big of Barack Obama to come into that room and see all of Hillary's supporters. He gave a very eloquent speech about bringing people together. ... I think there was a little more tension in the room than more so on the stage, I have to say. A lot of her supporters were anxious to hear what the senator was going to say to them and to see how Barack Obama was going to treat Hillary on the stage. And he was very respectful, and appropriately so" ("AC 360," CNN, 6/26).

Obama comm. dir. Robert Gibbs: "I think the meeting was a success. I think what donors saw tonight is the same thing that voters are going to see tomorrow in Unity, New Hampshire, and that is a team united to bring change to this country" ("LKL," CNN, 6/26).

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL): "In addition to the meeting at the Mayflower Hotel with Hillary's donors, Senator Obama also met with the Women's Caucus in the House of Representatives. And both meetings went extremely well. The reception for him was enthusiastic. He was warm. He started doing things he needed to do to reach out to her donors, say the things that they wanted to hear, hit the important points" ("LKL," CNN, 6/26).

Crowley: "The importance of this meeting is that money really runs campaigns. Barack Obama's opted out of public financing. He needs to rack that up. Hillary Clinton has some formidable fundraisers. By and large, they are signed up. They will go with Obama. There are some holdouts who didn't show up for the meeting tonight. I talked to a couple of people who came away saying, well, I'm a little underwhelmed -- they are nonetheless on board -- and others who came out and said, you know what? It's a good meeting. I'm on board. Let's do it" ("AC 360," 6/26).

ABC's Stephanopoulos: "There was a lot of tension going into that room last night, but I've spoken to several people who were there last night and I think Senator Obama did a good job of starting to bring the tension down, starting to court the Clinton voters. He paid attention to them. ... All accounts also are that the personal relationship between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton is also starting to thaw" ("GMA," 6/27).

I Love Him, I Truly Do

McAuliffe: "When the two of them walked into the room, the room erupted. This campaign has ended. Hillary Clinton has said we've all got to get together" (AP, 6/27). Upon finishing his M.C. duties, he made the TV rounds to talk about the event.

McAuliffe: "Senator Obama personally gave me a check for Hillary Clinton. His finance chairwoman, Penny Pritzker, gave me a check for Hillary Clinton. So there were a lot of checks being exchanged tonight" ("LKL," CNN, 6/26).

More McAuliffe: "There was a great feeling in the room. I think everybody's realized the importance of winning this November. It was a great unity event. People were fired up. ... Tough questions got asked. People walked out of there saying, okay, let's go" ("American Morning," CNN, 6/27).

CBS' Rodriguez: "I just want to hear Terry McAuliffe say, 'I'm a Barack Obama supporter.'"

McAuliffe: "I was the emcee last night. ... I'm 100% for Barack Obama. We're going to win this thing. Let's do it together. I love Barack Obama!" ("Early Show," CBS, 6/27).

McAuliffe, asked if the bad feelings have been buried: "Yeah, listen, we had 300 people there last night. ... I think last night was the beginning for all of us for the fall campaign to really get everybody energized and moving forward" ("Morning Joe," MSNBC, 6/27).

It's OK To Love Another

Meanwhile, Clinton "began campaigning in earnest for her formal rival" 6/26, giving a lunch address to the Nat'l Assn of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. "In her first major public speech since conceding" to Obama, Clinton praised him for "his grit and his grace." Clinton "urged her Hispanic supporters to transfer their allegiance to him," saying, "We all have to be united behind the values and ideals we believe in. I believe firmly the best way to continue this fight is to elect Barack Obama" (Kiely, USA Today, 6/27).

Meanwhile, according to a NY-based donor, Obama will hold a 7/9 event in NYC "designed to woo women voters" and appeal to Clinton's base of support (Horowitz, "The Politicker," New York Observer, 6/26).

Hey Everybody, Let's Get This Show On The Road

New York Daily News' Greenman writes, "Obama will hold hands with Hillary (but expect no fist bumps)" in Unity, NH 6/27 (6/27). The Dems "are jetting" to Unity "for a public display of affection aimed at showing the rifts really are patched up, and now the enemy" is John McCain (Bazinet/Bishop/McAuliff, New York Daily News, 6/26). "Aside from the symbolism of its name," Unity was "a carefully chosen venue" as it "awarded exactly 107 votes to each" Obama and Clinton. The "gathering [is] the latest and most visible event in a series of gestures" the two have made "in hopes of settling the hard feelings of the long primary season."

The Dems "badly need one another right now as they move to the next phase of the campaign"; Obama needs Clinton's fundraisers and Clinton needs Obama's help to retire her debt. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said 6/25 "that there are no appearances scheduled with Clinton" after Unity, but "three Clinton confidants...are in talks with Obama's camp to work out details of her involvement, including travel, her role at the national convention and resolution of her more than $20 million debt." They argue "Clinton can spend more time helping" if she is "not raising money to pay her bills" (Fouhy, AP, 6/27).

According to the Sec. of Unity's selectman, Laura Ryan, "none of the large field of" Dem and GOP presidential candidates "bothered to campaign" in Unity during the primaries (Tumulty, Westchester Journal News, 6/26). McClatchy's Lightman writes, "Much of the crowd that will be watching" Obama and Clinton, "as well as Democrats throughout this swing state, isn't yet ready to follow their lead." The "tone" 6/27 will be "relentlessly upbeat" but, "underneath the cheers will be the still-raw emotions of Clinton backers, as well as the wait-and-see reservations" of some Dems. And Obama "needs to win over wary voters such as these." Manchester lawyer/ NH Clinton co-chair Kathy Sullivan: "This will send a solid message to the Democrats and it shows Democrats in this state they're taking New Hampshire seriously" (6/27).

As If

Not all Dems are unified in Unity. There are "many in this loose confederation of nonconformists [who] have embraced a mantra that runs counter to the notion of reconciliation: 'Party Unity My Ass.' They have taken to calling themselves 'Pumas' and have adopted as their logo...the portrait of a snarling cougar." Although "not all have the same specific grievances...they are linked by their dissatisfaction with the primary process" (Merida, Washington Post, 6/27). GOPers "aren't feeling excited about the Unity event" either. Ex-Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH) "criticized Obama for not debating McCain in a town hall setting and for holding 'show-horse type of events'" (Mccord, Portsmouth Herald, 6/27).

Is Bill Joining The "Pumas?"

One Dem not uniting in Unity is Bill Clinton, who according to sources, "has been traveling Europe." Friends of the Clintons have been "shooting down talk that the ex-President continues to nurse a grudge over his treatment at the hands of Obama" ( New York Daily News, 6/26). 6/25 Obama said B. Clinton "wouldn't appear with his wife in Unity only because he didn't want the former president to 'upstage' his wife" (Smith, Politico, 6/27). According to CBS' Reynolds, Clinton "aides say he remains bitter about his wife's defeat and the Obama campaign's suggestion that he played dirty during the primaries. Mr. Clinton issued a brief -- and exceedingly restrained -- paper statement this week about being committed to 'doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States'" (CBS, 6/26).

"Finding a role" for B. Clinton "is a slightly trickier endeavor" than finding one for HRC. Obama and B. Clinton "haven't spoken on the telephone, aides to both said, since Obama clinched the nomination." Now, Obama "must choose whether to fully embrace" B. Clinton and his "strategic vision" for a Dem Party "built on his own accomplishments or deliberately leave a distance between himself and the most successful" Dem. pres in "decades" (Politico, 6/27). However, both camp's "said that the planning of the Unity event has been smooth" (Kornblut/Mosk, Washington Post, 6/27).

Just Let It Go Already

Obama comm. dir. Robert Gibbs, on reports B. Clinton remains "miffed": "We're working to arrange that call to the president right now. The former president is in Europe. He's got an extremely busy schedule. His office released a statement a couple of days ago. We think that both former President Clinton and Senator Clinton are going to be very helpful to this ticket, that we need their support and we need their enthusiasm. And I think we're going to get it."

Gibbs, asked if support from B. Clinton is necessary: "Well, absolutely. I think we want the insight and the wisdom of the former president" ("LKL," CNN, 6/26).

McAuliffe, on B. Clinton: "He has said, 'I will go 24/7.' ... Nobody likes to lose, but we've all moved on. Hillary has said we got to go forward, so he is ready to go. He will go out every single day in the fall campaign if that's what they require him to do" ("Morning Joe," MSNBC, 6/27).

Syndicated radio host Ed Schultz, on Obama: "He has reached out to the Clintons time and time again. He's taken the high road every single time. I think the Clintons need to come to the party and enjoy it" ("Race for the WH," MSNBC, 6/26).

Time's Klein, on reports B. Clinton is still bitter: "It's time for him to get over it, or go off and do his charitable work" ("American Morning," CNN, 6/27).

If You Can't Say Something Nice...

According to "two sources," Obama told his colleagues at the Cong. Black Caucus last week that, during his primary campaign against Clinton, "I bit my tongue many times. Many times. I bit my tongue many times during this campaign." He repeated the "I bit my tongue" phrase "three times," suggesting "that Obama believes that he did not unfairly attack Clinton but held back after feeling the sting of political barbs." One source, on the private meeting: "He can be pretty direct. It was a pretty lively meeting" (Rothstein, The Hill, 6/26).