Pat Dollard

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NY Times’ The Cacus:

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Senator Barack Obama on Monday dismissed concern that any quarreling or hard feelings directed toward him by supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would damage the Democratic ticket in the fall campaign.

“The Clintons love this country and they love the Democratic Party,” Mr. Obama said. “They are going to be active parts of our campaign for the remaining 70 days.”

As he made his slow march to the Democratic convention in Denver, meeting voters at stops in Iowa, Missouri and Montana, Mr. Obama took questions for about 20 minutes. It was the first time he talked to reporters in a formal setting in nearly two weeks.

Mr. Obama played down worries being aired by some Democrats – and fueled by the Republican campaign of Senator John McCain – that stalwart admirers of Mrs. Clinton would not support his candidacy in November. He said that Senator Clinton and former President Bill Clinton “could not be more clear about their support for my candidacy.”

Yet he conceded that some political patchwork was needed – and the burden was on him.

“There are going to be some of Senator Clinton’s supporters who we’re going to have to work hard to persuade to come on board – that’s not surprising,” Mr. Obama said. “But if you take a look this week, I am absolutely convinced that both Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton understand the stakes.”

Still, Mr. Obama declined to say whether he believed it was a good idea for Mrs. Clinton’s name to be placed in a formal roll call at the Democratic convention this week. He said the details were being negotiated between his campaign manager, David Plouffe, and a top adviser to Mrs. Clinton.

“I am confident that everything will be just fine on Wednesday night,” Mr. Obama said, turning to another reporter for a new question to change the subject.

Much of the lingering disgruntlement among Mrs. Clinton’s supporters is aimed these days at Mr. Obama’s vice presidential selection. It’s not only that Mr. Obama selected Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, but did he ever truly consider Mrs. Clinton for the post?

“I’ve tried not to have long discussions about short lists, long lists,” Mr. Obama said. “But I’ve said publicly before and I will repeat again that Senator Clinton would be on anybody’s short list, so I took her very seriously.”

Pressed by a reporter, who asked again whether Mrs. Clinton was on his short list, Mr. Obama replied: “I think you can draw that conclusion.”

In addition to the acrimony from the primary campaign, another point of contention seems to be the topic of Mr. Clinton’s speech on Wednesday night. The theme of the evening is foreign policy, but some associates of Mr. Clinton said he wanted to have license to talk about the economy – or other matters.

Mr. Obama sought to quell that dispute.

“I said as much to him three or four days ago. I said, ‘Mr. President, you can say whatever you like,’ ” Mr. Obama said. “Bill Clinton is a unique figure in our politics. This is the only person, the only Democrat, who has been re-elected since F.D.R. And he is somebody who is equally adept at talking about domestic issues and foreign policy issues.

“Now, Wednesday night most of the focus is going to be on foreign policy. But Bill Clinton knows a little bit about trying to yank the economy out of the doldrums and helping middle class families. It wouldn’t make much sense for me to want to edit his remarks to prevent him from making a strong case about why we need fundamental economic change in this country.”