Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton take their show on the road

Well, in case you were wondering exactly how much of a sport Hillary Clinton would be after losing the Democratic nomination  to that young upstart from Illinois, the answer's in. Mostly, anyway.

Barack Obama announced a little bit ago that he and Clinton would campaign together next Friday. No details were offered, such as where this might happen, for how long, whether it will be multiple events and days or just a quick bow-and-curtsy and off the stage. Or, for that matter, whether they plan free events or fundraisers.

Obama has already been making a hard push for Clinton's supporters, including a targeted appeal on his campaign website. And he's got his people working on some of her big donors, hoping to merge what became two massive fundraising juggernauts during the primary-and-caucus season into a general election behemoth (we envision a massive ATM in the shape of the lower 48).

And it's pretty remarkable that a campaign that rarely knows what it's doing three days in the future can schedule something a week in advance, even without details. Could it be that Obama's handlers are trying to shift the attention away from something less positive?

-- Scott Martelle

Comments

[Sarah]

Fox is changing, because Murdoch sees tthat the winning horse in the public race is Obama; this change in Fox's approval cannot be too obvious, as it would alienate the sheep rather than re-train them. Intelligent people like Cavuto is now allowed to be sensible, and only O' Reilly and Beck are being allowed to run off idiotically and unfettered at the mouth--but their rants are still inflammatory, thus titillating, entertaining, equalling ratings and of course Money Now. The media is all about the public psychological climate, and because this is--as Fox knows--changing as we speak, things are looking up. Trust me, Fox is being generally less insane than they were, and they are beginning now to be unafraid to point out that extremism is irrational. I say it will all change very much for the better, but not so fast that the adoring Fox viewer of the past (who is none too smart) can see it happening. Fox was never about politics, except the politics of popularity and general American intelligence. And this is evolving right now.

[hmmm....]

the question for me is, how much does she get paid to attend? Is this his way of paying off her campaign debts, I wouldn't doubt it. Oh well, it could be worse i guess.

[RG]

This has nothing to do with the public funding. That is not an issue, it's politics.
He would have to have been brain dead to have chosen otherwise. Only the partisan who are negatively affected by this decision will see it otherwise.

One exception to that will be the media who does not want this contest to be a run away in favor of Obama.

[Potomac Will]

Obama, Hillary To Campaign Together: Doesn't that indicate that she has the nod for the VP or some other very important slot? Surely, Obama won't kick her to the curb at the end of the road.

[Less Positive?]

Rejecting public funding is "less positive" ?!

It is wonderful that a grass roots movement could become so empowered by individual donations that it is strong enough to reject public funding. And that's 84 million that can be better spent for other purposes!

What could be MORE positive!

[justin]

Sarah, you are an idiot. Open both of your eyes and see that fox ALWAYS has a dissenting opinion. Look to CNN, MSNBC and the others and you will see that they do not. Yet to you, they are fair and balanced, and in your eyes, fox is not. Drink the cool-aid.

[smitty]

The purpose of campaign finance reform laws is to curb the influence of special interests that fund these campaigns.

By rejecting PAC money and taking donations largely from individual Joe and Jane Citizens, perhaps the influence of this special interest (real people) will greatly influence the presidency of Obama. This is a good, good, good, good thing.

There are more than 700 registered lobbyists for each elected member of Congress. When the people sweep Obama into the Presidency, lets hope he cleans up the country and weakens the stranglehold the oil and defense industries have on this country.

[Evelyn]

The dude is shameless. I am sorry- that's just how I and I think many other view him. If he is not going to ask her to be his VP- then he should let her take a much deserved rest and not drag her out there helping him. He is so selfish. As the presumptive nominee- he is now the Party Boss and everyone in the Party really us under him now. He's the boss...
And to top it off--didn't he hire Patti Solis Doyle to be the "chief of staff" of the VP Nominee? Shameless and ruthless.

[Van]

So what is the big deal if Hillary does get paid? I am so tired of the negative and hateful remarks about this woman., and without a doubt, Obama NEEDS Hillary
to pull-in the voters that he will not get without her.
I surely hope that she DOES NOT get the VP position, and even though I am a Senator Clinton supporter, like everything else during these past 17 months, she will be tottally blamed if he cannot pull it off, and loses to McCain.

[R Rivera]

I am very disappointed at the campaign's decision not to accept public financing. I support Obama because I thought he would bring in real change. Campaign finance reform was supposed to be one of his signature issues. If HIlary Clinton had changed her position, we would have jumped all over her for being an opportunist. I know public financing has many problems but so is unfettered spending.

[clombard]

Go sit down Clinton with your Lobbyist!

[JD]

To RG, Less Positive?, et al:

Of course the public campaign funding is an issue! This is a candidate who seems entirely to lack the integrity to stick w/ one side of an issue.

First there was Rev. Wright. Admittedly, this issue has been beat to death, but it's still important. If you think that Obama never heard these radical statements while at that church, you are delusional. (Remember that whole speech introducing Wright, Obama said, "He's my pastor, He counsels me, He listens to me . . . " etc. ad nausea.) How come he was willing to listen at that time, but when it becomes politically unpopular Mr. Obama has zero problem dumping his self-professed confidant?

Second, the funding issue. How many of Obama's speeches, from the beginning, were about a new Washington, free from influence, no lobbyists, etc? Now, again, when it's politically unwise to stick to that ideal, Mr. Obama turns his back on it as well. (I will readily concede that it would be foolish not to take the larger amount of money -- that is not the issue at all.) The issue is that the dedication to a campaign free from special interest money and influence was an underpinning of his entire campaign. But now, when he needs the money, it's as if he's saying, "Yeah, I know what I said. And I still believe that is the way it should be. But, those rules don't apply to me. I can change if I need to -- it doesn't change my stance. I still hope to keep special interest money/influence out of Washington, I just can't possibly turn down all of their money in this situation."

Huh? Wasn't that the point? Weren't you the champion of a new Washington? Why are we faced with at least two very clear instances of your lack of integrity?

Yeah, I said it. That is a lack of integrity. A person cannot adhere to their ideals only when it suits their purpose or is convenient. At least twice now, Mr. Obama has demonstrated his complete inability to stick with his purported convictions. If he's so wishy-washy now, and cannot demonstrate the integrity to adhere to his own beliefs, what the hell can we expect in office???

[Lisa]

Sarah, Beck is on CNN Headline News, not Fox.

[luvwknd]

The ONLY way Obama can beat McSame is to gain Hillary's voters and the ONLY way Obama will gain those voters is to announce she will be his running mate as VP!

If he don't pick Hillary he can kiss the White House good-bye and we poor Americans will have yet another 4 years of Repuklican suppression!

[jack]

Its not positive or negative that Obama rejected public funding, its only practical since he gets to avoid spending limits now. McCain will attack his decision to do so as Obama had previously implied, though not stated directly, that campaigns should have public funding.

Secondly, Obama should stop associating himself with Hillary very quickly. He doesn't want to appear as though he sortof won--he wants to look like he beat her. Potomac will is right that this implies that Hillary has the nod for some high up spot, but I hope for his sake that he's not making her VP. In my mind, he absolutely should kick her to the curb to show voters that he doesn't need her political machine to win. It would also be detremental to his mantra of "change" to side with Hillary, who represents the 1990s status quo.
Liberals also frequently fail to recognize just how detremental to their campaign Hillary would be, since nobody could more effectively galvanize the republican base. I have a family and a neighborhood full of conservatives... I can tell you with confidence that they aren't too thrilled about McCain, but they will flock to the polls for him if Hillary is on the opposite ticket.

[doiy]

i would like to see campaigns that are funded by the nominees themselves. and not "joe and janes" hard earned money. that to me would be impressive.

[Eliz NY]

Oh Gosh no! Hillary please don't campaign with B.O.! That would truly make me sick. It's too bad that you are not an "Independant" Hillary because then you could just leave B.O. to swing in the wind.
Sorry, but I will not vote for B.O. even if HRC is made to campaign for him. The DNC really just doesn't get it do they? I think HRC would have gotten a lot more than 18 million votes because of states that didn't allow Independants to vote in the primary elections. So many of us are very seriously loyal to Hillary.....for very deep and personal reasons...not to the Democratic Party. With B.O. as the presumtive nominee the election results for John McCain in November will SHOCK the DNC and B.O.- --B.O. will not win, the superdelegates should have chosen Hillary. Wait and see!

[Rick Strohm]

Justin, Fox is a provocative, anti-intellectual institution that makes money by appealing to folks like you, who seem to understand only "black" or "white." The world is gray, all gray my friend and until the unwashed Fox viewers are willing to read widely, travel and civilly discuss issues, Fox will always have income. Shouting down opponents and personally attacking them substitutes for thought. Fox programming is to news analysis as professional wrestling is to the NFL: entertainment for the small minded. Cheers.

[damien hunter]

I think it's a mistake to see the media as biased in one direction or another. They're started acting like referees in a boxing match... their main incentive is to make sure there's healthy competition from both sides and that both sides are making a good fight for high ratings.

[Character Counts]

They are campaigning together. Why not leave it at that? Why the negativity?

[Bob]

Republican suppression some say.... maybe your right. The democratic party is bound to have the solutions THIS time around. Maybe we should just call a potato a potato. In which case we would be calling the republican party, a great party that lost it's way. Hence the rising support for conservative liberitarians like Bob Barr, and of course Ron Paul. However at the same time, we would be calling the democratic party the communist party of the future. I know it's hard for people blinded by flashy speaches, and liberal commedic interpretation, to hear this spoken, but the evidence does not lie. If you were to compare the ideas of the german Nazi regime, with the corrupt USSR over tone, and tie in a little Chinese after thought, you get the democratic party of 2008. No catchy phrases, no play on words to make you feel more in charge. The truth will prevail, whether it's the hard way or not. God bless the America that I knew, and may it prevail over this communist swing called democrats.

[Syed Alla Baksh]

Democrats with Obama in the lead are changing rules participative Democracy in united states of America. This has become possible because of perceptable change in open thinking process of American people and the shock of the incumbent president's many misjudgements and misinformation leading to occupation of iraq and subsequent nightmarish rise in crude oil prise. Hope American people will make a calculated judgement .Let us hope Peace, progress, goodwill and hope will get restored every in the World. A true Democracy in all the affairs of the World is what is wished by all the peace loving people of the world.

[DD]

Who says Hilary deserves a vacation?
She, like the rest of us Democrats, better keep working til the presidency, Senate and Congress are safely in Democratic hands. A simple majority in Congress or the Senate doesn't do the trick.
Senator Clinton is committed to the Democrats winning. She has the political muscle and the political know how to help bring this about. If they didn't campaign together it would be crazy.
It's about Supreme Court Justices! Stop complaining about our candidates and start stomping for them.

[Joe]

Obama / Clinton could be the winning ticket. We are in such mess it may well take 2 strong leaders to create an administration effective enough to lead us in a better direction. I'd like to know who Sen. McCain will choose......

[Gavin Ehringer]

Hillary is not unintelligent; she has limited political influence if John McCain is president. However, as a Senator, VP, or potential cabinet member, she would gain great influence with Obama. Call me naive, but maybe she is also doing this for the good of the party.

[Dan]

You guys are crazy to think Obama was doing anything wrong by not accepting the public funding. It is within his right.

It's as if all of you have forgotten that McCain changed his mind on off-shore oil drilling and torture. Two things that could have won him the election yet he chooses to pander to the republican elite with their oil money and 'torture until proven innocent' attitude.

[Rick]

Sarah, I don't watch to Fox news all the time.....the rest of the time I listen to Rush Limbaugh.

[Gavin]

Re: campaign finance. The point of campaign finance reform was to take political power from corporations, the wealthy, lobbyists, political action committees, and labor unions and put it back into the hands of the general public. Given that Obama has effectively mobilized that public through small donations that fund his campaign, there is no philosophical or moral reason why he should not reject public financing. In fact, he is on a higher moral ground: he is funding his campaign with money from people who support his policy positions, not from taxpayers who funded the general election process thru the tax form checkoff. This should be a non-issue to voters, not something the Republican Party can leverage. The RNC gets almost all its money from donators to whom it is beholden.

[Raquelle Oliveira]

Amusing it is to see the Shrillobats out predicting the outcome of the GE. So far, their predictive abilities have been shown to be a zero. If their candidate chooses to join Sen. Obama in campaigning, it's either because she believes he will be a better national leader than McBush, in which case your faith in her judgment is justified, or it is because she has the common sense to ask for and receive help in resolving her debts, while positioning herself as a loyal party member. Either way, it speaks well for Sen. Clinton. It also shows that Sen. Obama is not vindictive, like the yowling brigade of sore losers.

Any way you slice it, it's not really a big deal. It's just ordinary presidential campaign politics.

[B]

I've supported Obama thus far. But if Clinton winds up his VP, I'm voting for McCain.

[Randy]

All I can say is,"The Democratic Party better get this one right." Because if they "screw the pooch" this time there will be vocal discourse coupled with anger that this country hasn't experienced in a very long time.

U.S. Citizens are already past the point of no return ... "all we need is a spark."

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend." - Thomas Jefferson

[hhkeller]

With no momentum and the DNC almost broke it's a wonder they want Clinton back on the trail.

[Christina West]

All you have to do is read between the lines to see what Hillary44 is telling us. We hear you Hillary! 2012 or bust! NObama!

http://www.womenforjohnmccain.com/

[MarkyMark]

Does the public really care whether Obama signed an intent form very early on in his run for the democratic nod? To me, it seems like his thinking was; "If I need it, great. If I don't, I won't." Sounds less like an integrity issue and more like a common sense issue. Which he seems to have plenty of.

[Chris]

Christina,

So because Hillary did not get the nod for the nomination, John McCain would make more sense than Obama? Is that because you think McCain's beliefs are so much closer to Hillary's than Obamas?

You're an idiot.

[Chris in Chicago]

JD, I think you're missing the point. Why would you slam Obama for turning down $85 million in your tax dollars to run his campaign? Instead he's decided to use donations from his many supporters instead. How is this a bad thing?

[sandy]

Don't know about anything else
but

MEGHAN MCCAIN IS SMOKING HOT.

SEARCH for google images and you will find emough.

A true american blonde. Whewwwwwwwwwww

[photty]

I hope that this campaign is not descending to the low level of 'Hannity and Combs', where the whole issue is scoring partisan points, while sacrificing true debate over important isses. My enthusiasm for either candidate is very fragile and will not stand much of this. I shall end up (ca=wa)sting a vote for Nader again.

[Xu]

Don't let people who try to say they will vote for Mc Cain if OB and HC join together. They are Republican try to fool us.... They are just for rich people... try to steal our vote again....

[dave]

As the puppet masters pull their strings
The American people go Baa BAA BAA
Since they murdered JFK its been one criminal regime after the other.
BAA BAA BAA
Go the American Sheeple
As far as the eyes can see dark eyes and Apathy

[Luis]

Sen. Obama signed a pledge and threw it in the garbage. He needs Hillary Clinton to the win the Presidency. Suddenly, the MSM says Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvannia are important! The Democratic Leadership can change their minds and vote for Hillary at the Convention. If she was the nominee, she would be leading in every swing state.

[Donna]

Hmmm. I wonder how much Hillary's appearance fee *cough* blackmail*cough* will cost? $20 million?

[John Taylor]

Hillary is not the benevolent type. This is not charity. The only mystery is what has she been promised and what deal has been made?

[Mahinda Katugaha]

Obama said he is going to unite America, Unite the Republicans with Democrats and Independents! If he cannot unite to party and make Hillary the Running mate; he has not realised that Obama means only half Democrats. If he cannot unite with the other half, how can we expect he is genuine and he is capable on the rest?

[Anna]

Have you heard this, some families will fight each other verbally and the ugly words said keeps them from healing so they go their separate ways and never come together again ? Barack Obama may have plans similar to or the same as Hillary's, but that's only because he copied Hillary's plans. He does not have the skills to enforce them. Because I and other Hillary supporters know that Hillary is the most intelligent informed person who can lead as president on day one, that fight with empty Obama has divided us forever. Vote McCaine.

[Jim]

The very first blog in this forum posted by Sarah says it all, and the remainder of the blogs are a lot of useless gas. It doesn't surprise me that Sarah's blog went totally unnoticed and ignored, seeing the remander of the bloggers are all swepped up into actually paying attention to the political dog and pony show.