Obama, Clinton Look to Set Aside Differences, Campaign Together

June 23, 2008— -- Political campaigns are often accused of being symbol-minded, but that won't stop Sen. Barack Obama from holding his first joint campaign stop with ex-rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in a town called Unity.

The two politicians, who thumped each other throughout a bitter marathon of primary battles, will make their debut in Unity, N.H., Friday as the political odd couple on the campaign trail.

The location for their stumping ground was selected for its obvious name appeal, but also because New Hampshire will be a key battleground in the fall election. In addition, Obama and Clinton each won 107 votes in Unity during the state's January primary.

Clinton and Obama will be together again on Thursday when Obama appeals for help from Clinton's top fundraisers at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. That meeting is designed to help raise money for Obama, but to also find a way to help Clinton pay down her $10 million campaign debt.

At both events, her words and body language will be parsed for any lack of enthusiam for Obama.

Like old times, Clinton will take a bite out of Obama's spotlight again this week, first by simply returning to work at the Senate and later with her appearance on the campaign trail.

Her reemergence comes as the two sides are still dealing with some raw emotions left over from the hard fought primary that dashed Clinton's White House hopes.

Hard Feelings Divide Clinton, Obama Camps

People close to Clinton are frustrated that the Obama campaign has yet to propose a way to help her retire her campaing debt, while some close to Obama think the Clintons are being sore losers who won't go out of their way to praise Obama.

A case in point was Bill Clinton's appearance Sunday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

During his address, the former president mentioned Obama only once, and that was to praise Obama for supporting one of programs begun during Clinton's administration.

"I was delighted to read that Senator Obama said he would reinstitute the COPS program," Clinton told the conference.

And when Hillary Clinton made her first public appearance this weekend since her concession speech, she never even mentioned Obama's name.

The closest the New York senator came to citing Obama during her speech at a Bronx high school's graduation was to say, "No one five years ago, or four years ago, could have conceived that an African-American and a woman would be competng for the president of the United States."

Clinton to Raise Money for Obama's Bid

Some of those tensions could be smoothed over on Thursday, when Obama meets with Clinton's top fundraisers in Washington.

"This meeting plays a very important role in healling the tensions," veteran Democrat strategist Tad Devine, who worked on Sen. John Kerry's presidential race, told "Good Morning America" on Monday.

Elizabeth Edwards Supports Obama

Obama has won the backing of another powerful woman who had previously withheld her support — Elizabeth Edwards.

The wife of one-time presidential contender John Edwards had remained on the sidelines even when her husband threw his support to Obama at a time when Clinton was making a last-ditch effort to keep her candidacy alive.

Mrs. Edwards, who is coping with breast cancer that has mestastized in her bones, had preferred Clinton's health plan to Obama's health plan. Neverthelesss, she told "GMA," "I am backing Senator Obama now."

She said she was confident that Clinton and Obama would be able to unite the party and cited the "enormous amount of graciousness" in Clinton's concession speech as proof.

"I think if we keep that feeling going, I think we have a great capacity. And I think if it's going to happen, I think it will happen before the convention," she said.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Obama has tried to make a public show of his respect for Clinton.

In Detroit recently, some of his supporters in the crowd booed when Clinton's name was mentioned. Obama interrupted his speech to scold the heckler, saying, "You up there! Senator Clinton is one of the finest public servants we have in American life today."

But late last week, during a session with the Congressional Black Caucus, it was apparent how sensitive Clinton's backers still are to any apparent slight.

When a member of the caucus asked Obama to reach out Clinton's female supporters, Obama said he would try to soothe any raw emotions, but he also suggested that the conservative positions on women's issues held by Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, might help Clinton supporters "get over it."

Those three little words — "get over it" — angered some of Clinton's backers, showing just how delicate a Democratic truce may be.

Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., a longtime Clinton supporter, found Obama's words were dismissive, off-putting.

"Don't use that terminology," Watson told Obama.

But another former Clinton backer, Rep Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., did not react the same way.

"I, personally, as a Hillary supporter, did not take that as something distasteful," Clarke said. "Nothing like that."

But, Clarke said, Watson "latched on to those three words."

ABC's Jennifer Duck contributed to this report.