After Dodge City days, Obama and Clinton head for the town of Unity
The former rivals will meet in a New Hampshire town whose name is meant to capture the spirit of the day, namely an emphasis on building a common front for the election battle to come.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — It has all the makings of a B movie: Once-fierce antagonists meet at midday to seal their carefully negotiated political alliance so they can go forth and rout their common enemy.
The only jarring note is the locale, a town called Unity. Hollywood would never have allowed such a cliche.
But that won't stop Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who battled him for more than a year through the ups and downs of a tortuous primary season.
They will meet today in an elementary school in the town of Unity, about 90 minutes by car from Manchester, site of the nearest major airport. It is the latest step for Obama seeking to build, well, unity among Democrats as the party turns its attention to the general election and likely the Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain.
In a taste of what is to come throughout the day, the pair met this morning at Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport, where they greeted each other warmly and half-embraced. Clinton wore a periwinkle blue suit; Obama sported a matching blue tie.
Clinton has already pledged to work for Obama's election after suspending her campaign after the last primary earlier this month.
During the nomination fight, the pair exchanged some nasty words at debates, in pointed campaign ads and during separate appearances -- but nothing so harsh as to hinder any reconciliation.
There are differences in their political positions, but they're ones of degree rather than of substance. For example, Clinton wants a broader approach to healthcare reform than Obama; Obama is more insistent than Clinton on winding down U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Their groundbreaking candidacies and close finish in the primary season have sparked hopes among some Democrats that the two could run together. Champions of a Democratic "dream" ticket argue that Clinton could help offset Obama's shortcomings with white women and blue-collar male voters. In her appearances since bowing to the electoral math, Clinton has been restrained, saying that the choice of a vice presidential candidate belongs to Obama, who is examining a list of names, including Clinton's.
But Clinton is considered unlikely to win the second spot, in part because of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
