Clinton, Obama come together in Unity

But while Hillary and Obama talked of working together, there were signs that their long battles could still cloud Obama’s drive for the White House.

Mocking Obama’s efforts to reach out to Clinton supporters, former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift said on a conference call organised by the McCain campaign that the Unity event made her wish Obama had “actually worked as hard to bridge the partisan divide in Washington”, as he was “to bridge the divide in his own party with Hillary Clinton voters”.

Friday morning, Hillary and Obama arrived together at Washington Reagan National Airport. After a warm greeting in front of the cameras, they sat next to each other on the airplane and shared a black bus befitting a traveling rock band on the 90-minute drive from the airport in Manchester to Unity.

The two chatted about their reliance on electronic communications and about strange food they had eaten on trips abroad. Democratic partisans filled bleachers and waved red-and-blue “Unite for Change” posters as giant letters spelling UNITY.

Hillary declared the support that many Democrats want to hear. “I know what we start here in this field in Unity will end on the steps of the Capitol, when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president,” she told the cheering crowd.

Hillary — who sent the Obama campaign a pair of $2,300 checks, reciprocating a donation made on Thursday to her campaign by the Obamas — stressed that her mission is now Obama’s. “… Today, our paths have merged.” Obama lauded Hillary and her husband for their talent and taking note of her historic achievement as the most successful female presidential candidate in history.