Bill Clinton ready to go in support of Obama

NEW YORK - At a lunch meeting yesterday with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, former President Clinton said he would do "a substantial number of things" to campaign for Obama this fall.

Any bruised feelings from Obama's primary campaign against Clinton's wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, appeared to be in the past as the Illinois senator and the former president talked to reporters outside Bill Clinton's Harlem office before the pair went inside to lunch privately.

Clinton said he would do "whatever I'm asked to do" for Obama.

"We're putting him to work," Obama said.

Asked what he thought about Obama's race against Republican John McCain, Clinton said, "I predict that Senator Obama will win and win handily."

"There you go," Obama said. "You can take it from the president of the United States. He knows a little something about politics."

The two men talked for two hours, according to an aide to Clinton.

In a joint statement afterward, the pair said they had a "great conversation. . . . They discussed the campaign briefly but mostly talked about how the world has changed since September 11, 2001."

"Senator Obama praised the work of the Clinton Foundation around the world, and President Clinton applauded Senator Obama's historic campaign, which has inspired millions around the country," they said.

Obama has had a sometimes difficult relationship with both Clintons.

Bill Clinton campaigned fiercely for his wife, and some in the Obama camp viewed him as having been too harsh, especially when he minimized the significance of Obama's South Carolina primary victory.

The former president will raise money and campaign for him, according to the Clinton aide, who confirmed that Bill Clinton would go to Florida for Obama on Sept. 29.

Hillary Clinton campaigned there this week.