Hillary Clinton returned to Capitol Hill for Day Two of her Back to Work extravaganza — this time meeting with House Democrats about the need to win in November and her support for Barack Obama.

Sources inside the meeting tell Fox producer Chad Pergram that Clinton got rousing support applause and good support from lawmakers who’d supported her one-time rival. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) told Fox that Clinton said it was good to be back in Congress as just “another superdelegate.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Clinton “the most respected political figure in America” after her White House run, saying “because of her campaign, the Democratic party is much more energized, much more prepared to win in November and much better prepared to govern in January.”

Clinton reaffirmed her commitment to working to elect Obama in November. “This election is a make or break election. And I’m doing what I can to make sure that Senator Obama is sworn-in as the next President of the United States here in this Capitol,” she said. “I’m excited about getting back to work here in the Congress and campaigning with Senator Obama on Friday.”

“It’s been a long, long period with President Bush and Vice President Cheny. And that will be ending.”

After speaking with Hillary Clinton on sunday and again today, Barack Obama told top donors on a conference call today to help his primary rival retire her campaign debt, the campaign confirms.

The New York Senator owes north of $10 million to vendors - nearly half of which is owed to former chief strategist and campaign scapegoat Mark Penn. She lent herself more than $12 million on top of that, which she’s said she doesn’t expect to get back.

Clinton will introduce Obama to some of her big fundraisers in Washington on Thursday at the Mayflower Hotel, and will appear in public with the nominee in Unity, NH on Friday.

UPDATE: Clinton’s campaign says “Senator Clinton appreciates Senator Obama’s generous efforts and is continuing her efforts to raise the monies he needs to ensure a victory in November.”

And Clinton emailed a direct appeal to supporters asking to help out with her debt, saying “As you know, I had to loan money to my campaign at critical moments. I’m not asking for anyone’s help to pay that back. That was my investment and my commitment because I believe so deeply in our cause. But I do need your help paying the debts we accrued to others over the course of this campaign.”

Read the rest of the email after the break.

(more…)

After more than two weeks off, Senator Clinton came back to her day job today — arriving on Capitol Hill to the cheers of some 50 interns and the hounding questions of the political press corps. She welcomed the applause but ignored the questions, turning to wave as she entered the building.

Clinton missed an early vote on housing, showing up in time for the Democrats’ weekly strategy session. She emerged to talk to reporters staking out the meeting outside the LBJ room, saying “I am rolling up my sleeves and getting back to work.”

“To my friends here in the leadership in the caucus and all of our colleagues I expressed my appreciation for the work that is done here in the Senate every single day and my commitment to working on behalf of the issues and values that we all stand for,” she said.

“It’s going to be up to the Democratic Party and particularly the Democratic Senate to make progress on everything from healthcare and the economy to ending the war in Iraq and I look forward to being back with this great team that we have here doing everything I can to make that happen.”

On her presidential bid, Clinton said “It was such an honor and a privilege for me to spend the last eighteen months as I did going across our country and having a chance to immerse myself in the extraordinary resilience and resourcefulness that is the American people. And I come back with an even greater depth of awareness about what we have to do here in Washington.”

(more…)

Barack Obama’s campaign held a conference call with former 9/11 commissioner Richard Ben Veniste to excoriate McCain adviser Charlie Black — accusing him of engaging in the “politics of fear” by speculating that a terrorist attack could help McCain in November.

Black, a long-time senior aid to McCain, told Fortune Magazine that a new attack “would be a big advantage to him,” saying that the assassination of Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto last December helped McCain win the GOP nomination.

“His knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who’s ready to be Commander-in-Chief,” he said. “It helped us.”

Asked about his aide’s remarks, McCain said “I strenuously disagree,” adding “I cannot imagine why he said it. It’s not true.” Black himself said he deeply regretted his comments, calling them inappropriate. “I recognize that John McCain has devoted his entire life to protecting his country,” he said.

Obama’s campaign released a statement last night calling Black’s comments a “complete disgrace.” Spokesman Bill Burton said “Barack Obama will turn the page on these failed policies and this cynical and divisive brand of politics.”

On the conference call this morning, Ben Veniste and foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said that while McCain had been a supporter of the 9/11 commission, the Bush policies in Iraq that he supports have kept the US from going after the real threats to the United States - Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

“We’ve seen the political play that was manifest yesterday by Mr Black’s candid comments, so what we want to do is get back to what will make this country safer,” said McDonough. “That has not been the record of this administration or what Senator McCain appears ready to continue for the next four years.”

Ben Veniste, however, stopped short of calling for Black’s head — saying only that his remarks “call for some recalibration in the thinking and perhaps a greater adherence to principle here in staying away from the politics of fear.

“I would suggest it would be a good idea to caution those whose candid thoughts have created this turmoil with Senator McCain,” he said.

(more…)

Hillary Clinton has taken to the internet to ask supporters to help with the more than $22.5 million in unpaid campaign debts — $12 million of which is owed to the candidate herself. Clinton has indicated she’ll write her own loans to the campaign, leaving almost $10 million that the cash-strapped campaign needs to make good on (not to mention whatever debts she incurred in June).

With no indication that the Obama campaign is willing to assist with that debt (much to the frustration of some Clinton backers), the New York Senator issued a web video to solicit online donations from previous contributors. While she never actually asks for money (using her long-standing euphemism of asking them to visit her website, which is chock-full of “contribute” buttons), a text box next to the video makes a more direct appeal.

“You and Hillary can write the next chapter of America’s history together,” it reads. “By helping us pay off our campaign debt, you’re not just helping Hillary elect a Democratic president and grow our majority in Congress. You’re making it possible for her to work as hard as she can on the issues we care about.”

Read the transcript of her remarks after the jump.

(more…)

The Obama campaign just announced the location for Friday’s much-anticipated joint public appearance of erstwhile Democratic primary opponents Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — the sleepy little town of Unity, New Hampshire.

It’s not just the name that’s fitting; the town split down the middle in it’s Democratic presidential preference, casting exactly 107 votes for Obama and 107 for Hillary Clinton on January 8th.

The two candidates are set to hit another location yet to be determined on Friday — one day after holding a closed fundraiser together in Washington. As one Clinton campaign staffer said about the two rivals hitting the campaign trail, it’s “all in the name of unity…. Literally!”

UPDATE: Obama mentioned Clinton in his remarks to women workers in New Mexico today, praising her and saying he looks forward to working with her on issues important to women and to American families. Check out the video below.

done

The Obama campaign sent an email today to reporters that read, “Chicago, IL – Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton announced today that they will campaign together on Friday, June 27th. Further details to be announced soon.”

This TBD event will be just one day after the two are set to hold a joint fundraiser in Washington, DC.

Stay tuned for details.

CHICAGO–

John McCain held a fundraiser at the posh Drake hotel this evening. The guests sipped beer, wine, and soda, but there were no hors d’oeuvres or snacks. He spoke for a brief thirteen minutes, but that included a jab at Barack Obama that was in his earlier prepared remarks e-mailed to the press, but that he omitted when delivering his energy speech this afternoon, “We have to go to wind and solar and tide and. . .we have to go to nuclear power. My opponent–Senator Obama said I am not a proponent of nuclear power well I don’t know exactly what that means but I am a proponent of nuclear power, my friends. “

He accused his Democratic rival of wanting to raise taxes, “Senator Obama wants to raise your taxes. I want to lower them. I want to keep them low. I do not believe you can raise taxes in economic hard times or any other time for that matter and not expect to pay a price. “ He also went after Obama for not supporting the troop surge in Iraq and not meeting with General Petraeus. The crowd of donors clapped at each jab to the presumptive Democratic nominee.

According to the McCain campaign website, donors who contributed $100, 000 were invited to a “Leadership Reception, along with the main reception,” while those who contributed $25,000 were invited to a “Finance Committee Reception, along with the main reception.” For $10,000 donors got a “photo opportunity” with the presumptive Republican nominee while tickets to the regular reception were $2,300 per person.

The fundraiser’s host, Bill Strong introduced McCain and joked about Chicago, “I think it is the hometown of your direct competitor.” Strong is the Vice-President of Morgan Stanley in Chicago and isn’t new to donating to political campaigns–oddly enough, according to FEC reports, he has previously donated both to Hillary Clinton and Fred Thompson’s campaigns.

The campaign did not immediately know how much money was raised this evening.

The Obama campaign today announced it added 15 new members of its “leadership team.” The staff is a mix of new hires as well as current staffers assuming new roles within the campaign. According to a statement, the team will “help broaden and deepen the reach of this campaign for change—from field organizing to constituency outreach to voter registration.”

In addition to a new Obama Campaign Chief of Staff, Jim Messina - who formerly served as Senator Max Baucus’ Chief of Staff- the campaign announced the hiring of former Clinton campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle. Reports that Solis Doyle was considering the move were published last month, but the move was made official today as the Obama camp announced she’d be Chief of Staff to Obama’s yet-to-be-discovered running mate.

While at first glance the hiring of the longtime Clinton aide and confidante may seem good news to those hoping for a “Dream Ticket” consisting of the two former rivals, according to a June 8th New York Times article, the two have not spoken since Solis Doyle was fired from the Clinton team back in February when the campaign, once considered unstoppable, was stumbling along.

Said campaign manager David Plouffe, “Today we’re adding to our leadership team so that we reach even more Americans who share the belief that people who love their country can change it. These staff members bring a wealth of organizing experience to their new role, and they’ll provide key insight and direction as we continue to build our coalition.”

On a flight aboard the campaign jet from Raleigh to St. Louis, Obama senior advisor David Axelrod shared little details of Senator Obama’s secret meeting with Hillary Clinton last week.

According to the senior staffer, Obama was “pleased” with the rendezvous meant, in part, to help heal the rift caused by 16 months of often contentious infighting between the two Democrats. “It was a friendly meeting, it was a productive meeting and it was very clear as was reflected in her speech on Saturday that she’s doing everything she can help,” Axelrod explained.

Of their hour-long discussion, Axelrod would only reveal, “There was a lot to talk about. It was a long campaign. It was good, but I’m not going to tell you specifically what was discussed, but I mean I think it was characterized by their joint statement. It was very much about the future and it was very good,” he said, maintaining the veil of secrecy surrounding the underground meeting.

When asked if the NY Senator would be making appearances on the campaign trail on behalf of the presumptive Democratic nominee, Axelrod said, “We hope so, we expect so based on what she said publicly. But this has been an unbelievably grueling process and she deserves some time to chill out. So when she’s back in circulation, hopefully we’ll see her out there.”

Perhaps Bill Clinton will emerge on the campaign trail too, as Obama himself told reporters last week he hopes to take advantage of Clinton’s political prowess. “I think Bill Clinton is an enormous talent, and I would welcome him campaigning for me,” he said responding to a question on whether he could overcome the bad blood between the two.

Axelrod afforded the ex-president the benefit of the doubt when asked about his often volatile remarks on during the course of the primary campaign. “You know what – he was out there, he was campaigning for his wife – I think he was fighting very hard and you know you can’t begrudge him that. I think it’s different when you’re campaigning for someone that close to you,” Axelrod explained.

Perhaps more importantly, President Clinton may help advise Obama as he tries to fight his way into the Oval Office this fall. “There aren’t that many presidents of the United States. Bill Clinton was very successful, and is a very smart guy, so I think beyond the campaigning elements of it, you know he’s somebody who I think Obama would want to have a relationship with. He’s got a storehouse of knowledge that very few people have,” Axelrod said.