Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., listens to a question from the audience during a town meeting at Westerville Central High School in Westerville, Ohio, on March 2, 2008. On the strength of a primary victory in Montana and a slew of superdelegates’ endorsements, Obama clinched the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination Tuesday night. (AP photo/Paul Vernon)
During a visit to the Senate, Obama said he had spoken with Clinton when the two ran into each other backstage at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting, which they addressed separately Wednesday morning.
“I just spoke to her today, and we’re going to be having a conversation in coming weeks. And I’m very confident how unified the Democratic Party’s going to be to win in November,” Obama told reporters as he left the Senate.
He dismissed a question about her refusal to concede after the final two primaries Tuesday night by saying she was “understandably focused on her supporters.”
Asked if Clinton indicated she planned to concede, Obama replied, “It wasn’t a detailed conversation. As I said, I’m very confident of how we’re going to be able to bring the party together.”
Some concern remains over the potential for unity after such a brutal campaign.
Even with Clinton’s support, Obama may have some making up to do with female voters who favored Clinton in the primaries, some of whom have threatened to stay home in November or even vote for McCain.
Amid all the talk about a first black president, Clinton’s loss was painful for some women, especially older women who saw her as the best hope for electing a female president in their lifetimes.
“This is about feeling that the party completely disrespected us, let us down, and we don’t feel that we want to be with the party,” said Cynthia Ruccia, a Democratic activist in Ohio.
Many party insiders believe that, over time, most Clinton supporters will decide that a reluctant vote for Obama is better than a spiteful vote for McCain.
“As time passes and everyone begins focusing on the differences between John McCain and Barack Obama, I think the medicine is going to be a little easier to swallow,” said U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., one of Obama’s most prominent female supporters. “But right, now I think it’s really hard for these women.”
Obama supports abortion rights, which McCain opposes. Obama also supports more government help for health care, home buying and college than does McCain.
With the nomination clinched, Obama turned his attention Wednesday to the hunt for a running mate. His campaign announced that vetting of potential running mates would be managed by a three-person team of one-time first daughter Caroline Kennedy, former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and Washington insider Jim Johnson.
Kennedy endorsed Obama at a critical time last winter, saying he could be an inspirational leader like her father, former President John F. Kennedy.
Holder is a former federal prosecutor and District of Columbia Superior Court judge who held the No. 2 job at the Justice Department under President Clinton.
Johnson is widely known among Democrats for having helped previous candidates, including John Kerry four years ago, sift through vice presidential possibilities. He is a former chief executive officer for the mortgage lender Fannie Mae.
Many Clinton supporters now are pushing for her to be included on a “dream ticket” that would bring Obama her enthusiastic legions and broaden his appeal to white and working-class voters.
“I think a lot of her supporters would like to see her on the ticket,” said her campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe.
But some high-profile Democrats, including former President Carter, see the “dream ticket” as a potential nightmare. Carter told The Guardian, a British newspaper, that selecting Clinton would be “the worst mistake that could be made,” citing polling data that shows many voters have an unfavorable view of her.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
