The Wall Street Journal
Obama Camp Begins Delicate Task Of Wooing Clinton's Supporters
By MONICA LANGLEY
June 3, 2008; Page A1
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Still, communication between the two camps is on the rise. Among the moves so far: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a senior adviser to Sen. Obama, has talked to Clinton supporter Leon Panetta, the former congressman and President Clinton's chief of staff, about endorsing Sen. Obama once the final primary contests conclude. Obama chief strategist David Axelrod recently chatted with ex-Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, whom the Obama camp will want to bring in for help with women and Hispanics.
A top money man for Sen. Obama, hedge-fund manager Orin Kramer, is keeping a dialogue open with two of Sen. Clinton's finance chairs, Hassan Nemazee and Maureen White, one of Sen. Clinton's top fund-raisers, in hopes of moving their fund-raising prowess to his candidate soon. The contacts aren't part of a concerted effort by the Obama campaign, but the result of numerous informal conversations among people who have known each other for years, including some who have worked together on past campaigns. "We're all Democrats and we're going to come together to beat John McCain in the fall, but there are still two contests left and that's our focus," said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.
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In anticipation of Sen. Clinton's withdrawal from the Democratic race, the Obama campaign plans to draw up a list of dozens of names for Sen. Obama to call personally, three Democratic insiders say. The Clinton supporters on his list are expected to include top fund-raisers and politicians in cities around the country, two of these people say. Sen. Obama is also likely to hold a small gathering with Sen. Clinton's top Wall Street and New York fund-raisers in the near future, says one person who expects to be invited. "Several of us have gotten calls from Obama people asking the question: 'Are you ready to hear from someone high up?' such as Barack or Penny Pritzker
," another Clinton supporter says. "I told them I'm staying with the girl I came to the dance with, but let them know that I'll come when the time is right."
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Mr. Panetta says he is ready to work for the Democratic ticket -- at the right time. "I've always thought both candidates are great, but I have supported Hillary," he says. But he says he told Mr. Daschle, a "close friend" from their days as lawmakers on Capitol Hill: "After the end of the primaries, I'll do everything possible to help the party come together."..The dialogue between the two camps is hugely important for the Democratic party, which needs a united front to take back the White House, advisers to both Sens. Obama and Clinton say. In 1980, after a divisive Republican primary fight, George H.W. Bush ally James Baker joined the Reagan campaign. Perhaps even more critically, many of the Clinton heavyweights are establishment figures who could help Sen. Obama with what some critics call a lack of experience on issues ranging from setting foreign policy to running a general-election campaign. The merging of staffs and advisers could also create tensions if longtime Obama policy advisers suddenly feel they are playing second fiddle to better-known figures who originally supported Sen. Clinton.
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