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WASHINGTON: Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton held a
hush-hush meeting late Thursday as Obama kicked off his campaign for
the White House and amid speculation over his vice presidential
pick.
Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight
and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs
to be done to succeed in [the election in] November,” their
campaigns said in joint statement, US media said.
No details were given on the issues discussed,
but Clinton earlier denied she was agitating to be picked as
Obama’s vice president after his victory Tuesday in their epic
battle for the Democratic White House nomination.
After promising to throw the full weight of her
formidable support behind Obama at a farewell event on Saturday,
Clinton disowned an orchestrated drive by some of her followers to
force her onto Obama’s ticket.
“While Senator Clinton has made clear
throughout this process that she will do whatever she can to elect a
Democrat to the White House, she is not seeking the vice presidency,
and no one speaks for her but her,” said her campaign.
“The choice here is Senator Obama’s and his
alone.”
The brief statement made no mention of whether
the New York senator would be willing to accept the job if it were
offered.
As Obama clinched enough delegates to represent
the party in November’s election on Tuesday, Clinton told New York
lawmakers that she was open to the idea of serving as his vice
president.
Since then, some of her backers have been
lobbying on her behalf, arguing that her support among working-class
voters and women would guarantee a November sweep against Republican
John McCain.
Noting Clinton’s 18 million primary votes and
victories in swing states, New York Representative Charlie Rangel
told CBS that “we should expect a landslide if they had this dream
ticket.”
But Obama said he would not be bounced into a
choice as a three-member team, including assassinated president John
F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline, began to vet vice presidential
contenders on his behalf.
In a CNN interview last Thursday, the Illinois
senator reiterated a line he used repeatedly on the primary campaign
trial: “Senator Clinton would be on anybody’s shortlist.”
“What I’ve also said is, the vice presidency
is the most important decision that I’ll make before I’m
president, Obama said.
“I’m a big believer in making decisions
well, not making them fast and not responding to pressure.”
At a rally in Virginia Thursday, Obama paid
tribute to Clinton and vowed to unify the party for the general
election.
“I know we won’t be divided because whatever
differences between me and Hillary Clinton, they pale in comparison
to the differences we have with the other side,” he said.
-- AFP
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