Obama tackles Clinton campaign donors' hurt feelings

BY GLENN THRUSH | glenn.thrush@newsday.com

June 26, 2008

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama faces a tough crowd as he attempts to soothe the bruised feelings of several dozen of Hillary Rodham Clinton's top campaign donors in Washington tonight.

Obama, who will join his former rival for a $1 million fundraiser at the Mayflower Hotel, has been less than enthusiastic in courting Clinton's money team, according to several major donors and supporters of the former first lady who spoke on condition of anonymity.

And that could dampen enthusiasm for raising the tens of millions Obama might get from his former rival's fundraising operation.

"It's going to be a really tense meeting ... Obama and his people have had this we-can-do-it-without-you attitude," said a Clinton ally from New York. "They haven't exactly been enthusiastic about reaching out. ... Hey, they might be right, maybe they can win it all without us."

Mark Aronchick, a former Clinton "Hillraiser" who plans to attend the event, expects lively exchanges during the question-and-answer session following the Clinton and Obama speeches.

"I know people who are going to have tough questions, who will want to know what steps he's taking to ease the transition to unity," said Aronchick, who says he'll go full-out for Obama.

"I don't have to be sold on the mission - I'm ready to go," he added.

Clinton and Obama, who battled for 17 months, will appear at their first joint public rally together tomorrow in the tiny New Hampshire town of Unity.

Obama took a significant step toward healing the rift with the Clinton team earlier this week when he pledged to tap his top donors to pay off half of Clinton's $20-million debt.

Speaking with reporters in Chicago yesterday, Obama practically pleaded with both Hillary and Bill Clinton to hit the trail on his behalf.

"I want her campaigning as much as she can," he said. "She can be an exceptionally effective surrogate for me. ... I think we can send Sen. Clinton anywhere and she'll be effective - obviously, it will be constrained by her schedule."

Obama also downplayed Bill Clinton's low-key endorsement, which came in the form of a one-paragraph e-mail from his spokesman earlier this week. "It's understandable the former president wouldn't want to upstage what will be a terrific unity rally," Obama said.

Hillary Clinton yesterday completed a two-day Capitol Hill homecoming tour, arriving at a meeting of 200 House Democrats, where she was greeted by applause a day after receiving a similar reception in the Senate. "There were several standing O's," said Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton). "I thought that she was fabulous. She was exceptionally well-received."