Clinton reiterates support for Obama, unified convention

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 7, 2008 at 1:40 p.m.
Updated August 7, 2008 at 10:43 p.m.

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Hillary Clinton urged her supporters to back Obama campaign.

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She supports him. Really.

Sen. Hillary Clinton went out of her way to rally her supporters for Sen. Barack Obama during a live Web chat Thursday.

And she promised the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver would be a unified one.

That didn't stop some skeptical inquiries from online questioners.

"Are you truly supporting Senator Obama and encouraging your supporters to do the same, or are you just saying what you have to?" a chat participant identified as JR4Hill asked.

"To answer your question, I am completely committed to helping Senator Obama become the next president of the United States and urging all of you to do the same," Clinton said, adding that they shared the same commitment to universal health care, ending the war in Iraq and improving the economy.

"I believe so strongly that if we want to see real progress in our country and finally break away from the failed policies of the past eight years, we need a Democrat in the White House," Clinton wrote. "I am going to continue to do whatever I can to help Senator Obama and Democrats across the country win in the November."

The protracted nomination fight left hard feelings among some Clinton and Obama supporters, but the two candidates are doing all they can to present a unified front heading into this month's convention.

Obama dismissed suggestions that the convention could be marred by tensions between his supporters and Clinton's die- hard backers.

He told reporters that their staffs were working out mutually agreeable convention logistics.

On Friday, Clinton leads a voter registration rally for Obama in Nevada, and she also is expected to campaign for him in Florida.

Although final convention plans have not been announced, various media reports suggest that Clinton will get a major, prime-time speaking slot on the second night of the convention, coinciding with the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage. Also on that day, the group Colorado Women Count/Women Vote hopes to mount a parade through Denver's streets, urging Clinton's name to be placed in nomination.

NBC News quoted sources as saying that the Obama campaign, in an effort to quiet talk of the Obama-Clinton drama, has offered Bill Clinton a speaking role on the third night of the convention - before the vice presidential running mate speaks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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