Here's what we know: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama and one-time rival Senator Hillary Clinton got together on Thursday for a private discussion.
Here's what we don't know: what they talked about. The dueling senators, who had been civil, if chilly, to each other for the past 17 months, surprised their aides and the Washington press by pulling off a closed-door talk at California Senator Dianne Feinstein's Washington-area home hours after Clinton had attempted to downplay talk of a Democratic "dream team" ticket.
The meeting came on the same day that Clinton announced she would be endorsing Obama at a rally planned for noon on Saturday in Washington, D.C., According to The New York Times, the two senators managed to head-fake the press when Obama, after holding a large rally in northern Virginia, did not show up as scheduled on his campaign's plane for a flight to his hometown of Chicago. The plane doors were shut and engines fired up before the reporters onboard were told that the candidate was not there. The perturbed writers did not find out until the plane landed that that the meeting had taken place in Washington between the former competitors.
Even then, no details were shared about what the two discussed. In the meantime, the press on the ground in Washington scrambled to figure out where the meeting was taking place, racing around the city in an attempt to get a shot of the two together.
CNN reported on Friday (June 6) that Feinstein spilled a few details about the meeting, which took place in the living room of her home. She said she sat the two senators down in comfortable chairs and served them some water before she, along with their Secret Service details, left the two alone for an hour. At the end, Feinstein said, the two were laughing and seemed to be getting along.
"They talked about how to come together and how to unify this party and move forward, because what we have at stake in November is so important," Obama communication director Robert Gibbs told CNN on Friday morning. "And what unites us as a party far exceeds what might divide either of these two candidates."
The meeting was initiated by Clinton, according to the Times. Afterwards, a joint statement confirming the discussion was issued by representatives of both senators, but sent out by Obama's staff, marking the first time the duo had worked in tandem like this since their dual quest to make history began more than a year and a half ago.
"Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November," the statement read. In another surprise, for the first time since the general election field became clear, Obama spoke with presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on Thursday, in what aides described as a brief, cordial phone call in which both men pledged to make the next five months about civil discussions.
Hours before the secret rendezvous took place, Clinton attempted to downplay pressure from some of her prominent supporters for Obama to choose her as his running mate in order to heal wounds in the party. In a statement from one of her chief strategists, the Times reported, the campaign said, "While Senator Clinton has made clear throughout this process that she will do whatever she can to elect a Democrat to the White House, she is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her. ... The choice here is Senator Obama's and his alone." The statement was a bit of a retreat from comments Clinton made earlier in the week to some fellow New York lawmakers, in which she said she was open to being Obama's running mate. Obama told reporters later in the day that he appreciated the Clinton camp's comments.
The Times reported that several unnamed Democrats said the effort to force Clinton onto the ticket was unusual, possibly counterproductive and that it had made the Obama camp unhappy. Obama said he was in no hurry to make his decision and felt that Clinton understood its importance, as she had seen the process in the past when husband President Bill Clinton went through a "very deliberative" procedure before selecting Vice President Al Gore.
"There's no decision that I'm going to make that's going to be more important before the November election," Obama said. "I intend to do it right, and I'm not going to do it in the press." He told CNN that he expects to make that decision within the next month.
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