By BETH FOUHY and NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton and likely Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama met privately Thursday night to talk about uniting the Democratic Party.
"Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November," their campaigns said in joint statement.
The statement included no details of their talks, as pressure mounted for Obama to invite Clinton to become his running mate.
Robert Gibbs, an Obama spokesman, would not say where the former rivals met, except that it was not at Clinton's home in Washington, as had been widely reported.
Reporters traveling with Obama sensed something might be happening between the pair when they arrived at Dulles International Airport after an event in Northern Virginia and Obama was not aboard the airplane.
Asked at the time about the Illinois senator's whereabouts, Gibbs smiled and declined to comment.
Clinton returned to Washington after the last primaries on Tuesday night, when Obama earned the 2,118 delegates he needed to secure the Democratic nomination. She planned to announce Saturday that she was ending her campaign and supporting Obama.
The meeting followed Clinton's disavowal hours earlier of efforts by some supporters who have urged Obama to choose her as his running mate.
"She is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her," communications director Howard Wolfson said. "The choice here is Senator Obama's and his alone."
Even as Clinton was bowing out of the race, supporters in Congress and elsewhere were ramping up a campaign to pressure him to put her on the ticket.
Bob Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television and a Clinton supporter, on Wednesday sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus urging the group to encourage Obama to choose Clinton as his No. 2. Johnson said he was doing so with her blessing.
Obama is seeking to become the first black president.
Clinton has told other friends and supporters she would be willing to be Obama's running mate. But her immediate task is bringing her own presidential bid to a close, and how.
In an e-mail to supporters, the New York senator said she "will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise."
Clinton expressed the same sentiment in a conference call with 40 members of her national finance committee, whom she urged to begin raising money for Obama and for the Democratic National Committee.
"Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November," their campaigns said in joint statement.
The statement included no details of their talks, as pressure mounted for Obama to invite Clinton to become his running mate.
Robert Gibbs, an Obama spokesman, would not say where the former rivals met, except that it was not at Clinton's home in Washington, as had been widely reported.
Reporters traveling with Obama sensed something might be happening between the pair when they arrived at Dulles International Airport after an event in Northern Virginia and Obama was not aboard the airplane.
Asked at the time about the Illinois senator's whereabouts, Gibbs smiled and declined to comment.
Clinton returned to Washington after the last primaries on Tuesday night, when Obama earned the 2,118 delegates he needed to secure the Democratic nomination. She planned to announce Saturday that she was ending her campaign and supporting Obama.
The meeting followed Clinton's disavowal hours earlier of efforts by some supporters who have urged Obama to choose her as his running mate.
"She is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her," communications director Howard Wolfson said. "The choice here is Senator Obama's and his alone."
Even as Clinton was bowing out of the race, supporters in Congress and elsewhere were ramping up a campaign to pressure him to put her on the ticket.
Bob Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television and a Clinton supporter, on Wednesday sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus urging the group to encourage Obama to choose Clinton as his No. 2. Johnson said he was doing so with her blessing.
Obama is seeking to become the first black president.
Clinton has told other friends and supporters she would be willing to be Obama's running mate. But her immediate task is bringing her own presidential bid to a close, and how.
In an e-mail to supporters, the New York senator said she "will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise."
Clinton expressed the same sentiment in a conference call with 40 members of her national finance committee, whom she urged to begin raising money for Obama and for the Democratic National Committee.
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