WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton backed away Thursday from efforts to push her into the No. 2 slot on the Democratic ticket with Barack Obama, as the two met privately to discuss ways to unify the party for the fall campaign.
Obama was stumping in Virginia, a Republican-leaning state he hopes to capture in November, when Clinton's campaign issued a statement distancing the New York senator from any lobbying efforts on her behalf.
After a 16-month marathon, she plans to quit the race and endorse her rival Saturday.
"She is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her," the Clinton campaign said in the written statement. "The choice here is Sen. Obama's and his alone."
The two met late Thursday in Washington in a hastily arranged session to discuss bringing their campaigns and the party together, Obama aides said. Neither side gave details of the talks, which took place at an undisclosed location.
"Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November," their campaigns said in joint statement.
In another sign of cooperation, Clinton spoke with her major donors and urged them to start raising money for Obama and for the Democratic National Committee, which has lagged far behind its Republican counterpart in contributions. In an e-mail to supporters, Clinton called on Democrats to unite, saying that "the stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise."
Her statement on the vice presidency was part of a minuet that has played out over the last several weeks as Obama's nomination appeared increasingly likely. Some Clinton supporters threatened to withhold their votes unless he ran with her; other Democrats called the pairing a "dream ticket" that would counter Obama's apparent weakness with some groups, including Latinos and working-class white voters.
Clinton boosters had been operating with at least tacit approval; in a private conversation Tuesday that soon leaked, Clinton told members of the New York congressional delegation she would be open to being Obama's running mate. Some in her inner circle have talked up the prospect.
In response, Obama has been respectful. But privately, some close to the candidate were not pleased. Other Democrats suggested the pressure on Obama was counterproductive with the party striving to move on from the often bitter five-month primary campaign.
