by Frank James

If you're President-elect Barack Obama and you're looking for a good excuse not to appoint Sen. Hillary Clinton to your cabinet, former President Bill Clinton is a godsend.

The Obama campaign has reportedly been spending time vetting the New York senator before any offer of a cabinet post, presumably Secretary of State, is made.

As part of the vet, Obama's transition team is attempting a full scrub of the former president's business dealings. But evidently, it's rough going.

As the Politico reports:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is President-elect Obama's first choice for secretary of State but his aides are becoming exasperated by the Clinton camp's pokey response to demands for extensive information about former President Bill Clinton's finances, according to numerous Democrats involved in the process.

"The sense among the no-drama Obama world is: This is well on its way to winning best Oscar for drama," said one well-connected Democratic official.

by Frank James

Being that it's Armistice Day, it seems like perfect timing for Politico's piece on the complicated, uneasy truce between the Obamas and their team and the Clintons and their people. Definitely a clash of personalities between the worlds of No-Drama Obama and All-Drama Bubba and Hillary.

A lot of it comes down to money which, as we all know, has ruined many a good relationship. Evidently, the Clinton people would like to see a lot more help from Obama in retiring the huge campaign debt she ran up trying to destroy Obama.

As Politico reports:

These tensions have created a somewhat schizoid relationship between Clinton and the Obamas - warm on personal matters, warier on political ones, and downright frosty on the still-unresolved issue of Clinton's mountainous campaign debt, which Barack Obama had pledged to help reduce.

Since the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton headlined about three dozen rallies and fundraisers - working rope-lines where well-wishers often lamented her exit from the race.

by Frank James

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that one reason the Bush Administration's proposal to buy toxic assets from financial institutions failed in the House earlier this week is because of bad marketing. The administration allowed the plan to be described as a "bailout" and that word by itself outraged many Americans.

So the language has been changed. The proposal is now being described as an economic, financial or national "rescue plan."

Here's President Bush this afternoon:

I appreciate Senator Harry Reid's leadership in the United States Senate when it comes to the financial rescue plan. I also appreciate Mitch McConnell's leadership as well. The Senate will be voting on a very important measure tonight. It's -- the rescue plan bill has been improved by raising, by other things, raising, temporarily raising the cap of FDIC insurance.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader said:

I'm optimistic that we're going to have a significant bipartisan victory on the rescue plan here in the Senate tonight.

Speaking to the media outside the Senate chamber, Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader used the word bailout but tried to give it a different twist:

This is not a bailout for Wall Street. It's bailout for a country.

But later in the chamber, Reid was on message:

Senators Bennett, Corker and Gregg on the Republican side, as well as Senators Dodd, Baucus, Conrad, Durbin, Jack Reed and Schumer have done an exceptional bipartisan job to move the rescue legislation forward here in the Senate, and their work continues.

by Frank James

OK, so I'm late to the party on Chris Rock's appearance on David Letterman Monday night in which the comedian took out after former President Bill Clinton for not doing enough to promote Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. I only caught up with it today.

But I'm sure others haven't seen it, so that's my excuse for putting up today.

Anyway, the former president spent many minutes lauding Sen. Joe Biden and, of course, threw his wife's name in the conversation fairly frequently. He did say he supported Obama and that he thought in the end Obama would win because of the general desire for change.

But he definitely didn't do as much drum banging for Obama as he could have which Rock pointed out.

"Is that me or did he not want to say the name Barack Obama?" Rock asked Letterman.

He also has a great Sarah Palin-Michael Vick joke.

For those who've already seen this, good for you. But for those who haven't, I bet you'll get a laugh out of it.

Rock, who in the 1990s starred on Comedy Central's "Politically Incorrect," conceptual predecessor to the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Show, definitely keeps alive the spirit of that old show.

by Josh Drobnyk

Former President Bill Clinton, in what could be a preview of his speech Wednesday night, told party-goers in Denver Tuesday night that "this election is not about a politician."

The former president and his wife made a surprise appearance at a party at Invesco Field for the delegations of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Florida. Joined on stage by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and New York Gov. David Patterson, he said he was "so proud" of Hillary Clinton for making "the only argument that matters tonight."

"To Sen. Clinton in advance: I forgive her for upstaging me tomorrow night," he said. "I forgive her for making me looking like a second-rate speaker."

He added: "Hillary made the only argument matters tonight. Nothing else matters. This election is not about a politician."

He added: "Two thirds of the American people are having a tough time. ... And it is not going to get any better. So she made the case. ..."

"You really don't have any choice," he said. "There is not an option here. ... Don't forget -- out there in this country the American people are aching and they are looking to us to shell down the corn and deliver the goods and the only way we can do it is if we do it together."

By Andrew Zajac

Footnote to the Democratic primary: Among the worries of the party faithful about New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the business baggage of Bill Clinton, including his lucrative relationship with Vinod Gupta, founder and CEO of the infoUSA database and marketing firm.

Make that former CEO.

Gupta was replaced as chief executive of the Omaha-based firm as part of a proposed settlement of a shareholder suit which accused him of misspending millions in company funds, part of that on the Clintons.

Gupta, who still owns a hefty chunk of infoUSA shares, remains a board member, but turns over the reins of the company to one of its outside directors, according to an infoUSA announcement this morning.

Clinton looks on during a news conference where he announced a program to reduce the cost of malaria drugs August 3, 2008 in Monrovia, Liberia. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images For The Clinton Foundation)

by Frank James

ABC News has an interview with former President Bill Clinton in which he says he's not a racist for the things he said during the Democratic primary race between his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.

That's just how topsy turvy the rise of Obama has made the world for the man once called the "first black president." He now has to protest that he's not a racist.

ABC caught up with Clinton in Liberia where he was traveling to take in the good works of his foundation.

Clinton clearly was barely able to repress his anger during certain parts of the interview but did for the most part. He took a few shots at the media, blaming us for some of the problems experienced by his wife in her unsuccessful run for the White House.

But he held back quite a bit, clearly not wanting to say anything for which he could later be blamed if Sen. Barack Obama, the assumed Democratic presidential nominee, fails to win the presidency.

Clinton promised to unburden himself in "January once the election is over." Does he know something we don't? We thought the election would be over in November.

In any event, despite his desire to stay on the high road, a little of the old Clinton anger did seep out. He was asked about Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina who reporter Kate Snow first identified as a one-time Clinton supporter. Clyburn is Congress's highest ranking African-American.

As Snow writes on the ABC News website:

When Clyburn's name was brought up as a supporter who criticized the former president, Clinton interrupted to say Clyburn was never a supporter of the Clintons.

Pressed on whether Clinton "severely damaged" his standing with African-Americans as Clyburn has claimed, Clinton snapped, "Yeah, that may be. By the time he got through working on it, that was probably true."

Looks like Clyburn burned Clinton's the bridge to the 21st century.

by Christi Parsons

In an elegant high-rise apartment overlooking the Chicago Loop Monday night, Michelle Obama ascended a spiral staircase to address a private party of campaign contributors as they dined on sushi and sipped wine.

But as she spoke she frequently gestured toward the wall of glass windows and to the streets beyond the downtown business district, talking of the problems that face residents on the city's South Side and in other struggling neighborhoods around the country.

"Do we settle for the world as it is?" she asked. "Or do we work for the world as it should be?"

It was a familiar theme for the wife of the Democratic presidential candidate, who took the "world as it should be" phrase from a speech she heard her future husband give in a church basement on the far South Side when they were first dating.

On Monday, she employed it in a pitch for Dan Seals and Debbie Halvorson, two Illinois Democrats seeking congressional seats currently held by Republicans. Michelle Obama was the featured guest at the fundraiser in the home of real estate magnate Neil Bluhm, who hosted the event along with Rep. Rahm Emanuel.

by Andrew Zajac

Hillary Clinton biographer Gail Sheehy weighs in with a fascinating post-mortem on the New York senator's just-concluded presidential campaign in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair.

According to Sheehy, fierce infighting among the Clinton inner circle "team of rivals" -- Harold Ickes, Mark Penn, Patty Solis Doyle, Mandy Grunwald and Howard Wolfson, left the campaign unable to recover from blunders, like woefully underestimating Barack Obama and dithering about competing aggressively in the Iowa caucuses.

Nor could the campaign reign in Bill Clinton, whom Sheehy portrays as an imperial figure carrying on as though the presidency for his wife was a family birthright.

In the end, the combination of Obama's unexpectedly impressive performance and the new Democratic establishment's wariness and weariness of the Clintons helped prevent the expected rescue of the campaign by the party's superdelegates.

Read Sheehy's entire take on the campaign here.

by Andrew Zajac

Part of the process of reconciliation between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton requires the Illinois senator to schmooze and stroke Clinton's big donors.

Obama began the process last week with a meeting of Clinton's national finance committee.

One of the challenges this poses for Obama, whose campaign champions change in Washington, is how he will deal with some of the decidedly old school aspects of Clinton's fundraising wherein the candidate did not worry unduly about exactly where the money came from or what scrapes the donors may have been involved in.

Donors like Sant Chatwal, who has waged lengthy battles with tax collectors, bankruptcy court and government regulators, while maintaining his status as a key campaign bundler and door-opener among Indian-Americans for first Bill Clinton and later Hillary Clinton.

Chatwal also helped arrange one of Bill Clinton's bigger post-presidential paydays, serving as the go-between for Clinton and a London charity which wound up paying him $450,000 for an appearance at a 2006 fundraiser. That was nearly one third of the fundraiser's revenue and $170,000 more than Clinton charged for ordinary overseas for-profit appearances.

Now Chatwal is warming up to Obama.

By Naftali Bendavid

As Democrats move into the fall campaign, many are asking where Clinton fits into the new landscape.

Not Hillary Clinton, who just held a major "unity" event with Barack Obama and backed him with apparent enthusiasm. Rather, many of the questions now surround her husband Bill. Before this year, the former president was moving comfortably into a perch as an elder statesman, even if the old whiff of controversy never quite went away. But Bill Clinton received decidely mixed reviews this year as he careened across the political stage during his wife's recent campaign, and it's not clear where its end leaves him, especially since much of the commentary suggests he is sulking.

A striking feature of the past week was the difference in the Clintons' tones as each surfaced for the first time since Barack Obama claimed the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton was gracious and poised in her return to the Senate, as well as at the rally in Unity, N.H. Greeted emotionally by staffers and colleagues, she handled what must have been a tough moment with self-deprecation and humor.

Defense Department Press Secretary Geoff Morell. (Pentagon photo.)

by Frank James

At today's Pentagon briefing, Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell, was asked about the preparations his agency is making to continue operating in the event Congress doesn't pass the war-spending bill.

He answered by saying that officials within the department were working now to figure out who the "essential" employees are who would have to work even if the department shutdown:

...And so we are, as you know, I think, taking some prudent planning measures just in case that money doesn't come through. Deputy Secretary Gordon England sent a memo throughout the department earlier this week asking for all the departments to begin planning for a possible shutdown, and all the departments are due to report back to him by June 30th with a plan as to what they would do to shut things down. And he's additionally, I think, asked that we figure out who sort of the essential civilian personnel is that would have to remain working even without pay in the event of a shutdown.

Morrell's use of the word "essential" would likely send shivers through some at the Pentagon and cause painful flashbacks for federal employees who lived through the government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996.

That's because all federal workers like to be regarded as essential. Otherwise, maybe federal managers will get it in their heads to start downsizing their agencies.

By Naftali Bendavid

To the various and sundry gaps John McCain must confront this fall--the fundraising gap, the excitement gap, the party approval gap--add one more: the surrogate gap.

Assuming the Clintons recover from their primary battle wounds and campaign hard for Barack Obama, which seems likely, the Democratic candidate could have quite a stable of stars to campaign for him around the country, augmenting his own demonstrated ability to draw a crowd. Consider, just for starters:

= Hillary Clinton herself. She has an impassioned following among working-class voters, women and the elderly. She inspired millions by almost becoming the first woman nominee of a major party. Her supporters remain disappointed by her loss to Obama, but if she campaigns in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania, she could generate significant excitement on Obama's behalf.

by Jim Tankersley

BRISTOW, Va. - Barack Obama is looking forward to campaigning with a pair of Clintons this summer and fall. But don't bother asking if he'll pick the Clinton he just defeated as his running mate.

Fielding questions on his campaign plane over Virginia, Obama heaped praise on Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, his vanquished Democratic rival, pronouncing himself "grateful for her support." He also said he expected to mend fences with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who criticized Obama sharply at times during the primary season.

"Bill Clinton is an enormous talent," Obama said, "and I would welcome him campaigning for us."

Obama said choosing a running mate will be the most important decision he makes before the November election, and he repeated his oft-used line that Hillary Clinton would be on anyone's short list. But he said not to expect any details about his short list to leak from what he plans to make a tightly-guarded, deliberative process.

"The next time you hear from me about the vice presidential selection process will be when I have selected a vice president," he said. :If you hear secondhand accounts, rumors, gossip about the selection process, you can take it from me that it is wrong, because we're not going to be talking about it in the press."

Clinton's campaign released a statement this afternoon disavowing an overt campaign to pressure Obama to select her, calling the pick "Sen. Obama's, and his alone."

Obama said he has not spoken to Clinton since she announced she would endorse him this weekend, but predicted he and she will appear together soon. "She ran a magnificent campaign," he said. "She inspired millions of people. She inspired the best from me. And we are going to be working together to win in November. So until that time when we have a conversation, I don't want to speculate or characterize anything."

by Frank James

The long, hard-fought Democratic primary campaign produced plenty of fodder for Republicans to use against the all-but-official Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, in the form of criticism by other Democrats of Obama's relatively short national-security resume.

On the morning after Obama claimed enough delegates to capture the Democratic nomination, the Republican National Committee launched a new web ad called "Democrats vs. Obama" which uses Democrats' own words expressing doubts about Obama's readiness to be commander-in-chief.

The ad features Sen. Hillary and former President Bill Clinton , Sen. Joe Biden, and John Edwards raising questions about his experience.

Such ads will likely be a major part of the Republican strategy against Obama.

And why not? Voters expect the opposition to criticize a party's putative nominee so they're more likely to discount Republican charges against a Democrat.

But criticisms from respected members of the same party could have more resonance, especially in a general-election context. At least, that's what Republicans are hoping for.

by Frank James updated 3:44 pm

Sen. Barack Obama has said that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be on anyone's short list for vice president. It appears Clinton may be trying to see if he really meant it.

The Associated Press is reporting that Clinton has told New York lawmakers that she's "open" to being Obama's vice presidential pick. We don't have much more than this AP news alert to work with:

By BETH FOUHY and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writers

AP-ES-06-03-08 1534EDT

If Obama chooses Clinton, it certainly would be one way of trying to heal the divide in the Democratic Party.

But there's a widespread belief that there's so much bad blood between the camps that such a combination would be virtually impossible.

An equally strong belief is that the presence of former President Bill Clinton in the mix would make such a ticket untenable and, should such a ticket win the general election, for a very charged and poisonous White House atmosphere.