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Obama Calls President Bill Clinton

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June 30, 2008 3:54 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller and Sarah Amos Report: Amid reports of tension between Sen. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, the Obama campaign announced Monday the presumptive Democratic nominee called Bill Clinton at 11amET this morning from Kansas City, Missouri while enroute to his event in Independence, Mo.

This is the first time Obama has spoken to the former president since winning the Democratic Party's nomination.

The former president was in New York, where he has an office in Harlem and a home in Chappaqua, NY. They spoke for 20 minutes. Obama asked the former president to campaign with him and for him. The Obama campaign said Bill Clinton told Obama he is excited about that prospect.

"Senator Obama had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is honored to have his support in this campaign," said Obama spokesperson Bill Burton.

"He has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation’s great leaders and most brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come."

The former president's office was just as effusive about the call today.

"President Clinton had a very good conversation with Sen. Obama today. He renewed his offer to do whatever he can to ensure Sen. Obama is our next President," said Bill Clinton spokesperson Matt McKenna.

"President Clinton continues to be impressed by Sen. Obama and the campaign he has run, and looks forward to campaigning for and with him in the months to come. The President believes that Senator Obama has been a great inspiration for millions of people around the country and he knows that he will bring the change America needs as our next President."

Over the weekend, Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chair and a former national co-chair to Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, said the former president would speak to  Obama within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Reports have swirled for weeks about tensions between Bill Clinton and the presumptive Democratic nominee. Reigniting speculation about their relationship, Clinton's office last week released a one-sentence statement from spokesman Matt McKenna that was dubbed "tepid" by many members of the punditry and media.

During the campaign, Bill Clinton appeared to directly attack his wife's rival, telling PBS' Charlie Rose before the Iowa caucuses that voting for Obama is "a roll of the dice." He also said the Obama campaign "played the race card on me" after he likened Obama's South Carolina win to Jesse Jackson's in the 1980s, and publicly said Obama's opposition to the Iraq war was "a big fairy tale."

June 30, 2008 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (170)

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Telel Bo to FO

Posted by: GEEVILL | Jun 30, 2008 4:18:21 PM

Gee, a few months ago Obama and his supporters were race baiting and trying to convince us all that Bill Clinton was a racist.

You will all remember that right before the SC primary (where 50% of the electorate happened to be African American) they distorted the meaning of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s words to imply racial insensitivity.

This, despite the fact that both Clintons have a well documented record of advancing and supporting civil rights (hence the 90% approval rating that Bill Clinton had amongst African Americans).

But now Obama is praising Bill Clinton? The fact that Obama, his campaign and his supporters played the ugly game of race to trash Bill Clinton is the main reason that Obama will NEVER get my vote. And I have voted (and volunteered for ) every democratic presidential candidate since Michael Dukakis.


Posted by: ch | Jun 30, 2008 4:18:49 PM

Wonderful....

The empty vessel calls the man he called a racist.

Obama will be lucky if Clinton campaigns for him. Sooner or later voters will be gin to realize there's really nothing there other than ambition and arrogance and the numbers will be a lot closer than they are now.

Posted by: Nancy | Jun 30, 2008 4:19:25 PM

He never called Clinton a racist, racist!!!

Posted by: Jim | Jun 30, 2008 4:22:37 PM

Ooh Jim, good comeback! You told him/her! Those 3 exclamation points really drove the point home!!!!!!!

Posted by: Dee | Jun 30, 2008 4:28:23 PM

Mitt Romney said it best in the following excerpt:

Obama — Media Darling


Despite the flip-flops, the media have largely given Obama a pass.

“It is a remarkable feature of the mainstream media, to watch for instance how they magnified every aspect of Hillary Clinton’s weaknesses during the primary, and how soft was the touch on Barack Obama,” Romney says. “I think there’s a desire on the part of many in the mainstream media to recreate the Camelot years of John F. Kennedy. And there’s a hope that Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and their young children can be like the Kennedys of old. And so we will have the rose-colored glasses probably throughout the campaign.”

****I think the media, the Obama supporters and even Obama himself thinks he is a modern day JFK. I think it would be better to compare Obama to Jimmy Carter....thier candidacies are parallel to each other as well as their thinking. We don't need 4 more years of Jimmy Carter!******

Posted by: david from texas | Jun 30, 2008 4:28:37 PM

Obama threw the Clinton years of 1990's under the bus remember. I bet Billdidn't forget.

Posted by: geevill | Jun 30, 2008 4:29:23 PM

Bill, don't let the press run you away. Obama gets along with everyone. You are a genious when it comes to politics. When you left office, the country was in good shape. The Republicans messed it up. Help Obama win, so he can restore what you did.

Posted by: Paula Laird | Jun 30, 2008 4:33:21 PM

Obama has no integrity. He now praises Bill Clinton after bashing him in the primaries. Just like he did Hillary, Obama will resort to new lows to try to win the election. He speaks out of both sides of his mouth. He flip-flops all over the place. He does have the media in his back pocket....to them, he can do no wrong. However, he will come to the sharp realization that first Tuesday in November when John McCain will be elected into the White House. Sorry Obama, and Obamabots....America wants their President to have integrity, something Obama has yet to find.

Posted by: david from texas | Jun 30, 2008 4:33:25 PM

Oh that's right Jim. Obama didn't call Bill a racist, he sent his goons onto the Sunday gab fests to do it for him as usual. Don't want to sully the robes.

Posted by: mPCT | Jun 30, 2008 4:33:46 PM


Obama never called Clinton a racist. It's the devil's lie. Everyone knows that the Clintons have never been racist. Stop drinking the moonshine, so you can reason.

Posted by: Pam Lesley | Jun 30, 2008 4:35:19 PM

“I think we know the real Barack Obama by virtue of what he’s done over the last 20 years,” Romney says. “He says he doesn’t agree with the most extreme things said by Reverend Wright. I’ll take him at his word. But I still wonder why he selected that minister as his religious mentor. His positions on Iraq and the comments he’s made during the primary campaign — for instance, his statement that he’ll visit the world’s worst dictators without condition in his first year — these tell you about who the real Barack Obama is.”

Posted by: david from texas | Jun 30, 2008 4:37:06 PM

Please ABCNews...is Jake Tapper preparing another lie about this conversation as we speak? He might just say people in the other room could hear shouting..."reliable sources."

I can already SMELL Jake's lies from this far.

Posted by: Dekonti | Jun 30, 2008 4:37:43 PM

this guy knows how to brownnose. wonder if he comes running when called by his white taskmasters?

Posted by: ron | Jun 30, 2008 4:38:00 PM

“Barack Obama is appealing to the audience he thinks he needs to win,” Romney says. “Particularly during the primary, he appealed to the far left of his party, and with time you will watch him slowly but surely change his stripes and try and appeal more to the center and pretend he’s something he’s not.”

Already, Obama is re-branding himself

Posted by: david from texas | Jun 30, 2008 4:38:11 PM

david from texas - We just made a major deplomatic breakthrough by talking to one of the "axis of evil." TALK works!!!!

Posted by: Dekonti | Jun 30, 2008 4:40:10 PM

Can't you just feel the love?

Posted by: LongT | Jun 30, 2008 4:40:31 PM

@ Dekonti:

And who might that be?

Posted by: david from texas | Jun 30, 2008 4:40:48 PM

Wow...I wonder if they will film the kissing.....Bill Clinton says Barack Obama must 'kiss my a##' for his support"

Posted by: rktsci3127 | Jun 30, 2008 4:41:15 PM

What's the old saying about "strange bedfellows"? Perfect example!

Posted by: LongT | Jun 30, 2008 4:41:53 PM

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