Details emerge on face-to-face meeting
They sat in facing chairs, no aides present. They talked for an hour, with only water to drink. And they emerged laughing.
Their host, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California divulged some details yesterday about the first one-on-one meeting of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama since Obama clinched the Democratic nomination.
Feinstein, who supported Clinton and then switched to Obama and called for party unity, said Clinton called her Thursday afternoon and asked to use her Washington home for the secret get-together that night. (Clinton, who held a farewell party for key campaign staff members at her Washington home yesterday, plans a formal endorsement and concession at noon today at the National Building Museum in Washington.)
While Obama and Clinton sat in her living room, Feinstein went upstairs. "They called me when it was over," she said. "I came down and said, 'Good night everybody, I hope you had a good meeting.' They were laughing, and that was it."
She told reporters yesterday that she hopes the two former rivals have more one-on-one meetings, away from campaign staff members and aides.
"It's a first good step," Feinstein said.
"There's a lot of decompression and nerve endings that need to come together," she said. "It's extraordinarily difficult to be just human."
While it is not clear whether they broached the subject, Clinton issued a statement just before their meeting disavowing attempts by some loyal supporters to secure her a place on the Democratic ticket. She said that she was "not seeking the vice presidency" and that the decision "is Senator Obama's and his alone."
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found that 54 percent of Democrats want Obama to pick Clinton, while 43 percent say he should select someone else. The support is stronger among women, 60 percent of whom want Clinton as the vice presidential nominee. But 51 percent of male Democrats oppose the idea, the poll found.
A Gallup poll also showed a majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favoring Clinton for the vice presidential nominee; 52 percent said Obama should pick her while 34 percent said he should find someone else.
The daily tracking survey also found that with Clinton as his running mate, he leads Republican John McCain 50 percent to 45 percent among all voters. Without her on the ticket, Obama and McCain are tied at 45 percent.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
