When Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama appeared together last week at a rally in Unity, N.H., they gave symbolic closure to a nomination contest that had stretched out for nearly a year and a half. No less importantly, the event capped a reconciliation process that has been proceeding in fits and starts since before the final primary ballots were cast.
In the last weeks of the primary campaign, both candidates began adding nearly identical paragraphs to their speeches focusing on the theme of a unified Democratic Party. Clinton would note that the differences between her and her rival were nothing compared to the differences they had with Republican John McCain, and she took to reminding reporters that the party had been through many fierce primary campaigns in the past only to come together for the general election.
For his part, Obama played down intraparty divisions and urged his supporters to be patient in an effort to counter the growing perception -- backed up by polls and anecdotal evidence -- that his supporters and her supporters might not unite behind the eventual Democratic nominee. Toward the very end, Obama began to lavish his opponent with praise at almost every stop.
"I know that some Democrats are worried that, 'Well, this campaign went on a long time and maybe you can't bring the party together. The Clinton supporters and the Obama supporters, they're going after each other,'" Obama told a Rapid City, S.D., audience in late May. "Let me tell you something: First of all, we're going to come together because Senator Clinton is an outstanding public servant, she has run a magnificent race and she is going to be working on behalf of the Democratic Party, as I will be."
When it became apparent that Clinton was ready to concede the fight, the transition toward the general election began in earnest. After a few phone conversations and a brief, clandestine chat in the living room of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's Washington home, Clinton introduced Obama to some of her largest donors last week at D.C.'s Mayflower Hotel. Obama and his wife, Michelle, returned the favor, donating $2,300 each to help pay off Clinton's campaign debt and encouraging supporters to do likewise.
And Friday, it was on to Unity -- a journey that was filled with symbolism, laughter, bright summer hues and an unlikely coincidence. (One aide joked to a reporter that they had built the town just so they could have a backdrop for the event.)
Clinton and Obama greeted each other that morning at Washington's Reagan National Airport with a handshake on the tarmac. She patted him on the back, he kissed her on the cheek and they boarded the Midwest MD-80 plane -- the same one she used for a good chunk of the primary fight -- smiling. His light blue tie matched her pantsuit, just by happenstance, aides said.
There was a commingling of staffers, with Clinton aides Huma Abedin and Jamie Smith -- colorfully dressed in green and salmon -- laughing with Obama body man Reggie Love in the aisle before takeoff. Clinton gave Love a pat on the back too, Abedin greeted Obama staffers seated nearby and the two former rivals sat elbow to elbow.
After all the acrimony of the campaign, it was a shock to the system to some of the reporters to see the onetime competitors together.
"I've never seen this plane so abuzz. I wish everybody would sit down. It's making me anxious," said one reporter. Another busied himself by cutting together old video clips of Clinton and Obama bashing one another. A sample: Clinton at an Ohio presser saying, "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" followed by Obama in Pennsylvania saying, "She knows better, shame on her!"
But those days seemed far behind both candidates as their lines in Unity hit all the necessary notes.
"We may have started on separate paths, but today, our paths have merged," said Clinton, who spoke first. "Today, our hearts are set on the same destination for America. Today, we are coming together for the same goal: to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States."
Obama complimented Clinton and her husband as he, too, focused on the work they would do together.
"For 16 months, Senator Clinton and I have shared the stage as rivals for the nomination," he said. "But today, I could not be happier, and more honored, and more moved that we're sharing this stage as allies to bring about the fundamental changes that this country so desperately needs."
Both Clinton and Obama seemed to lack their usual energy on the stump, although the crowd didn't appear to mind. One mother-daughter pair from Goffstown who stuck around after the event spoke about their love for both candidates and about how excited they were for the fall election.
Still, it's too soon to tell what "unity" will look like over the coming months. How much will we see Clinton stumping for Obama? And will we ever see Bill?
The campaign declined to confirm a report Sunday that the former president and Obama were set to meet early this week, but at a press conference Wednesday in Chicago, Obama said he wanted both Clintons' help. "If the question is do I want Bill Clinton campaigning for us, for the ticket, leading into November, the answer is absolutely yes," he said. "I want him involved. He is a brilliant politician. He was an outstanding president. And so I want his help not only in campaigning but also in governing, and I'm confident that I'll get that help."
On the flight up to Unity, Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, called the New York senator a "powerful advocate" on issues like the economy and said the campaign would use her as extensively as she is willing to help. He said he did not see any danger in having Clinton stump for his candidate, despite Obama's frequent suggestion during the primary that she symbolized the old ways of Washington.
"He'll define his own candidacy, but I think people want to see unity in our party and they want to see leaders of our party speaking with one voice," Axelrod said.
As former Clinton donors prepare to help Obama and former Clintonistas sign on with his staff -- her former policy director, Neera Tanden, was among the latest to do so -- the slow coalescing of the former rivals' teams continues. The question is how strong and united a team it will end up being and just how much all that unity will help Obama.
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