Following up on an earlier item, I should note that CNN’s report about “preliminary” discussions between the Clinton and Obama campaigns don’t appear to exist. CNN reported this morning that the discussions were underway, that Clinton was aware of them, and that the negations were not going especially well (Suzanne Malveaux described them as “difficult”).
CNN is now reporting this story in an entirely different way.
Several close friends and supporters of Hillary Clinton tell CNN they are pushing for a “graceful exit strategy” that would allow the Clinton and Obama camps to come together, and for the New York senator to save face should she fail to become the Democratic nominee for president.
The discussions are not taking place between the campaigns, but rather among informal campaign advisers on both sides who are trying to actively influence and shape the debate as the competition nears a close June 3. […]
Obama campaign chief strategist David Axelrod said “there have been zero discussions, back channel or otherwise between the campaigns.”
Clinton campaign aides also deny that any talks are taking place between the campaigns, emphasizing that the contest is not yet over. Clinton herself said the report was “flatly untrue” during a meeting with the editorial board of a South Dakota paper Friday.
But some Clinton camp insiders and close friends are actively floating three scenarios which they believe will influence whether or how the two teams merge.
Which, of course, lead us back to those scenarios we talked about this morning.
I’m a little surprised CNN would be careless about describing “formal” discussions that don’t actually exist, but I’m not especially surprised that there are no talks underway.
These two don’t seem close to the negotiating table. For one thing, Clinton is blaming the Obama campaign for a CNN story that relied exclusively on people described as members of Clinton’s “inner circle.”
During a meeting with the editorial board of the Argus Leader, Hillary appeared to accuse the Obama campaign of being behind the story CNN aired today reporting that there are “talks” between the two campaigns about her getting out of the race and possibly becoming veep.
“That’s flatly untrue — flatly, completely untrue,” Hillary said when asked about “reports” of such talks. The edit board meeting is being aired live, and is still underway.
“No discussions at all,” Hillary continued. “It is not anything I’m entertaining. It is nothing I’ve planned. It is nothing I’m prepared to engage in.” … A bit later, Hillary added: “This is part of an ongoing effort to end this before it’s over.”
Later still, Hillary brought the hammer down: “I would look to the camp of my opponent for the source of those stories,” she said.
That does seem rather unlikely. CNN said the sources of the story were people close to Clinton. I’m hard pressed to imagine how the Obama campaign could get them to tell CNN about non-existent negotiations.
Meanwhile, Clinton’s top fundraiser, Hassan Nemazee, seemed to be making veiled electoral threats about Obama and the general election.
“[T]here’s a risk that if she isn’t invited on the ticket, Hillary’s political and financial supporters may not feel compelled to be as integrated and involved in the Obama campaign in order to provide the maximum support that he’ll need to prevail in November.”
If CNN’s follow-up report is accurate, and “informal advisors” to both camps are moving towards some kind of talks, I hope they hurry. After a couple of weeks of relative detente, this week has been a mess — which has gotten progressively worse and more tense.