Today as news broke that Hillary Clinton would soon help to unify the Democratic Party by announcing her support for her one-time rival, the Obama camp remained silent.

“No thanks,” a senior staffer wrote when asked to respond to the news. According to two staffers, Hillary Clinton had not yet called Obama to discuss her plan (as of 7:40 pm).

When Barack Obama arrived at the first of two high dollar Manhattan fundraisers, reporters looking for comments were ignored. Instead, the presumptive Democratic nominee shook hands with supporters and well wishers.

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But the print pool reporter who covered the two fundraisers did get a question in to Obama. According to his pool report:

“Getting out of the motorcade in light drizzle, pooler asked Obama how it feels now that it appears even Hillary Clinton realizes he’s the nominee.

‘Truth is, I haven’t had time to think about it. This weekend, I’m going home, talk it over with Michele and we’re going on a date.’”

Obama is tentatively scheduled to at least sleep in Chicago tomorrow night through Sunday night.

For the second time, John McCain has proposed holding joint town halls with the Democratic nominee during the course general election campaign. For the second time the Obama camp responded positively to the idea.

“As Barack Obama has said before, the idea of joint town halls is appealing and one that would allow a great conversation to take place about the need to change the direction of this country.  We would recommend a format that is less structured and lengthier than the McCain campaign suggests, one that more closely resembles the historic debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.  But, having just secured our party’s nomination, this is one of the many items we will be addressing in the coming days and look forward to discussing it with the McCain campaign,” said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

Of course the idea of a Lincoln-Douglas moderator-less debate was originally Hillary Clinton’s idea.

A campaign spokesperson denied a report on Huffington Post today that claimed Senators Obama and Clinton  spoke Sunday night and agreed that their staffs should begin talking about the next phase of the election.

“Senator Obama called Senator Clinton yesterday afternoon to congratulate her on her win in Puerto Rico. End of story,” an Obama spokesperson said of the candidate’s afternoon phone call to his Democratic rival.

After greeting workers at a Waterford, Michigan, Rite Aid Distribution plant today, Obama was asked by reporters traveling with him about his conversation.

“The only conversation I’ve had with Senator Clinton was yesterday to congratulate her on her victory in Puerto Rico. I apologized once again for the offensive remarks that were made by Father Pfleger back in Chicago. I emphasized to her what an extraordinary race that she’s run and said that there aren’t too many people who understand exactly how hard she’s been working, I’m one of them, because you know she and I have been on this same journey together and told her that once the dust settled, I was looking forward to meeting with her at a time and place of her choosing and so we’ve still got two more contests to go and I’m sure there will be further conversations after Tuesday,” he answered.

On the brink of winning his Party’s nomination, is the history-making candidate emotional?

“Not yet, but talk to me tomorrow night.”

Barack Obama told reporters traveling with his campaign yesterday that, while he believes he conceded Hillary Clinton a net of delegates in states where he did not campaign or compete, he’s satisfied with the ruling.

“[Hillary Clinton] nets a significant number of additional pledged delegates, but I also understand that many members of the Florida and Michigan delegation feel satisfied, that the decision was fair and our main goal is to get this resolved so we can immediately turn the focus of the entire party on winning Florida and Michigan and delivering on the needs of the people in Florida and Michigan, states that are enormously important, states where a lot of people are struggling. I recognize that there were compromises on all sides in resolving this issue. I’m glad that the DNC worked it through, and I hope that we can start focusing our attention on the substance ads opposed to just the process of politics and start explaining to the American people how the Democrats are going to improve their lives,” he said in a media avail that largely focused on his decision to leave his controversial church.

When asked if he would try to dissuade Senator Clinton from challenging the Michigan decision, Obama said he would not. “I think that Senator Clinton and former President Clinton love this country, they love the Democratic Party. I think they deeply believe that Democrats need to win in November so I trust that they’re gonna do the right thing,” he said.

And what is that?

“Well I think that they’ll have to make a determination on it, but I think that they will be motivated by an interest in bringing the party together and making sure that we’re in a position to win Florida, Michigan and the presidency.”

The Obama camp today took notice of Hillary Clinton’s comment to a South Dakota newspaper editorial board meeting, where she said she would not drop out of the race and oddly observed, “Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June.”

When the New York Post picked it up and called the comment “an odd comparison between the dead candidate and Barack Obama,” the Obama camp responded. “Senator Clinton’s statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign,” a spokesman said in a statement, further escalating the story.

Fodder for at least a few more news cycles.

During his opening remarks at a Kissimmee, Florida, town hall meeting, Barack Obama noted his pledged delegate majority, but admitted the campaign was not quite over. There are, after all, three more contests in Montana, South Dakota and Puerto Rico, and neither Democrat has secured the 2026 delegates to secure the nomination.

Obama announced he would be campaigning Saturday in Puerto Rico, and will continue to hold events in the western states yet to vote. And, in his second Florida event of the day - his first swing through the state since September of last year - Obama said he hoped the Florida delegation would be seated.

Of course Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates when the state moved their primary contests before the DNC’s rules permitted. While Clinton contends the validated results could propel her closer to victory, the Obama campaign has stated they were just playing by the rules and so did not campaign in the two states.

“My hope is in a couple weeks time, that we’ve won some more elections, we’ve won some more delegates, we’ve gotten the Florida delegation seated so that they’re gonna be at the convention. And then we’re gonna have a convention in August and I’m gonna accept that nomination and then you and I together  - we’re gonna have to work hard to make sure that we win Florida, we win this general election, and then you and I together we’re gonna change the country and change the world,” he said confidently to applause.

On a warm spring evening in Des Moines, Barack Obama took the stage to announce he’d achieved a milestone in the protracted race for the Democratic nomination – a journey that became viable in Iowa thanks to an upset victory in the state on January 3rd. “The skeptics predicted we wouldn’t get very far. The cynics dismissed us as a lot of hype and a little too much hope. And by the fall, the pundits in Washington had all but counted us out. But the people of Iowa had a different idea,” Obama said to about 7,000 in an outdoor rally.

While Hillary Clinton is far from publicly admitting her possible defeat, Obama declared, “Tonight in the fullness of spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people, and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
”

“This is a big deal,” senior advisor David Axelrod told reporters en route to the rally. “I don’t think anybody has ever won the majority of pledged delegates and have not been the nominee of the party, so it’s obviously very important, but we are going to fight for every delegate and finish out the process,” he continued.

But sounding like the presumptive nominee, Obama has shifted from taking on Hillary Clinton to praising her. Last night Obama called her a formidable candidate and noted her 35 years of pulbic service. “We have had our disagreements during this campaign, but we all admire her courage, her commitment and her perseverance. No matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and yours will come of age,” he said as the polite crowd applaued.

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Rather, Obama is ready to move to the next phase of the campaign in taking on John McCain. “While our primary has been long and hard-fought, the hardest and most important part of our journey still lies ahead,” he said. “This year’s Republican primary was a contest to see which candidate could out-Bush the other, and that is the contest John McCain won.”

The candidate will be campaigning in the two states and one territory with remaining contests, but will be making more stops in general election battleground states. “We’re gonna keep working both at closing out this process officially and all the work that lies ahead in terms of the general election,” Axelrod said.

Today Obama is campaigning in Florida.

At a fundraiser last night in Portland that raked in an estimated $350,000 to his campaign coffers, Barack Obama predicted a victory in Oregon, and said he believed the resulting delegate haul would “put us over the top.”

“We will be able to say we have won a majority,” he said. “But we have a lot of work to do ahead of us.”

For Dems to win in November, he said, it will require a unified Party, adding: “That means all of you have to be nice to Clinton supporters.”

After Tuesday there are three more contests.

The Obama campaign did not campaign in any of the five states yet to cast votes for the Democratic nominee today (a morning event in Kentucky was cancelled due to Senate votes), opting to visit Missouri and Michigan, states that will be key for a Democratic victory in November. “I’ll be back because we’re gonna be competing in Missouri,” Obama promised voters in Cape Girardeau, MO, while taking aim at John McCain on issues ranging from the economy to Iraq to the environment. Surely signs of a campaign confident of a victory, despite getting creamed by Senator Clinton in West Virginia today.

But when asked by a voter at his Missouri town hall if Hillary Clinton might be his running mate, a more emure Obama replied, “It’s too early. Senator Clinton is still competing; we haven’t resolved this nomination - I haven’t won the nomination yet.” He added, “It would be presumptuous of me to pretend like I’ve already won and start talking about who my vice president’s going to be. I’ve still got more work to do.”

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Obama phoned Senator Clinton before taking off for Michigan (the first time the candidate has been there since speaking at an NAACP dinner there last June) to congratulate her on her WV victory. The frontrunner didn’t get through to tonight’s victor, however, and left her a voice mail.

According to the Obama campaign, Barack Obama now has more superdelegates than his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton - “a clear sign that Democrats across the country and throughout the party are ready for a new kind of politics.” In an email sent out to supporters, Campaign Manager David Plouffe shared the news while noting the race is not over (hint, send money).

“Given the long history the Clintons have with the Democratic Party, it’s no surprise Senator Clinton maintained her superdelegate lead for so long,” Plouffe wrote. “But right now it’s clear that the Democratic Party is uniting around Barack’s candidacy.”

Read the email here:

“Big news today: for the first time since this campaign began, Barack Obama has taken the lead among superdelegates.

We’ve won more elected delegates, more states, and more votes than Senator Clinton. But until yesterday we trailed among Governors, Members of Congress, and Democratic Party leaders — the so-called “superdelegates” who have a vote in the nominating process.

As it stands, we have 279 superdelegates who have committed to cast their convention votes for us. That includes 21 since last Tuesday’s elections, and 3 who switched their support from Senator Clinton.

We have just 152 delegates to go before Barack Obama clinches the nomination.

But Senator Clinton intends to compete vigorously in the remaining contests; at the same time we face increasing attacks from Senator McCain and the Republican attack machine.

Barack needs your support to close out this nomination and start building for the general election.

You got us where we are today. Please help by making another donation of $100 now.

Given the long history the Clintons have with the Democratic Party, it’s no surprise Senator Clinton maintained her superdelegate lead for so long.

But right now it’s clear that the Democratic Party is uniting around Barack’s candidacy.”

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