• With Hillary and Obama set to woo ex-Clinton donors tonight and participate in their first joint public campaign rally tomorrow, some final details concerning a seamless merger of the Clinton brand into the Obama campaign and clean-up of some final Hillary baggage is underway courtesy of uber-lawyer Robert Barnett. Hillary wants to unify the party and move beyond defeat, but not before getting what she sees as justified breaks from Obama and making sure her needs are covered in a final “unity” agreement. Which begs the question; is it really genuine “unity” if there needs to be a written agreement and high-priced lawyers in order to achieve that “unity”? Either way, the two sides are hammering out some drafts that cover the Hillary basics: Helping with her staggering campaign debt and working out her role in the Denver convention. Never mind that Obama wants her on stage for as little as possible. Hillary wants plenty of time given her in accordance with what she sees as her stature within the party and her 18 million primary votes. One trouble spot remaining is how Bill will fit in to this.
  • Hillary has already made a sizable peace offering to Obama in a speech to the American Nurses Association this morning. Nurses were obviously strong supporters of Hillary during the primary, but HRC didn’t hold back in praising Obama in front of a health care crowd - it being a major sticking point between the two during the Dem contest.  - “I have served with Senator Obama now for nearly four years in the Senate,” she told delegates of the American Nurses Association. “I campaigned with him for more than 16 months across our country. I debated with him in more debates than I can remember. And I have seen his passion and determination and his grit and his grace.”
  • The indomitable Bob Novak has an intriguing piece today on how serious two major Republican political figures are about avidly supporting Barack Obama in this presidential campaign. Chuck Hagel and Colin Powell have been cool to the GOP for some time now, mostly over Iraq and the foreign policy moves of the Bush administration. Powell has publicly said he is undecided about which candidate he will back in the race. Hagel is a friend of McCain’s, but he has indicated that he is interested in Obama’s Veep slot; that’s just Lieberman-esque! Novak sheds light on the thought process of these two ex-GOP heavyweights as they trend in Obama’s direction, potentially flattening McCain’s bipartisan appeal in the process. If he’s too closely aligned with Bush for these guys, what does that lead moderate swing voters to think?
  • News that the Bush administration has reached a deal on North Korea’s nukes and decided to take Kim Jong Il’s little paradise of the list of state sponsors of terrorism has been well received by Barack Obama, of all people. Obama’s stance on NK had always included calls for removing them from the terror list as well as more negotiations. Bush has done both, which gets some kudos from Obama, although the tone is decidedly cautious.  - “This is a step forward, and there will be many more steps to take in the days ahead,” he says in a statement that also voices conservative caution. “Critical questions remain unanswered. We still have not verified the accuracy of the North Korean declaration. We must confirm the full extent of North Korea’s past plutonium production. We must also confirm its uranium enrichment activities, and get answers to disturbing questions about its proliferation activities with other countries, including Syria.”
  • McCain runs into opposition from Kansas Senators Brownback and Roberts over his plan to shut down Gitmo and transfer all remaining detainees to KS’ Fort Leavenworth. Thew two pols don’t want to see their state become mainland Gitmo II and have expressed written concerns with the plan to McCain.
  • McCain starts a battleground tour tomorrow as he heads to Ohio for a couple of days of campaigning.
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