Bill Clinton offers support to Obama
WASHINGTON (AP) - June 24, 2008 Relations between the last Democratic president and the
candidate who wants to be the next one are frosty - they still
haven't spoken in the aftermath of the heated campaign. But Bill
Clinton extended an offer to help in a one-sentence statement from
spokesman Matt McKenna.
"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," McKenna said.
It's not clear what Obama might ask him to do. The campaign
wasn't specific when asked.
"A unified Democratic Party is going to be a powerful force for
change this year and we're confident President Clinton will play a
big role in that," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
Bill Clinton will not be attending the unity rally between the
two former rivals Friday in New Hampshire. McKenna said the former
president is in Europe this week to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th
birthday, give speeches and work for the William J. Clinton
Foundation.
Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke Sunday and talked about
Obama connecting with the former president sometime in the future,
Burton said.
Hillary Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said, "Senator Clinton
is very pleased with how quickly the party is coming together after
the primaries, and she will continue to do everything she can to
unite Democrats behind Senator Obama as our nominee."
Bill Clinton was an outspoken critic of Obama during the primary
race. He said Obama's opposition to the Iraq war was a "fairy
tale" and raised questions about whether the first-term Illinois
senator had the experience to lead the country. During one debate
Obama snapped at Hillary Clinton, "I can't tell who I'm running
against sometimes."
President Clinton has been the most valuable personality in the
Democratic Party, but his angry outbursts while campaigning for his
wife tarnished his image. Obama prizes a tightly controlled image
and lack of drama in his campaign, which are not President
Clinton's hallmarks.
Half of respondents to an AP-Yahoo News poll conducted in
mid-June viewed Bill Clinton favorably. But he took a hit among
those who said they had a "very favorable" opinion of Clinton,
dropping from 25 percent in December before the primary voting
began to 16 percent in June. Still, the former president is one of
the most popular figures in public life and he drew large,
enthusiastic crowds when campaigning for his wife.
Democratic consultant Mark Kornblau said the benefits of having
Bill Clinton's help outweigh the negatives for Obama. He said
Clinton could travel to economically struggling states such as
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan and talk about the prosperity under
his presidency and promote Obama's vision.
"He can connect in parts of the country where Senator Obama may
need some help, like the Rust Belt, and it will help in further
unifying the party after a fractious primary," said Kornblau, who
was a spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
"The downside, as we saw in the primary, is that it's a little
roll of the dice. But I think it's worth the risk."
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