Obama and Clinton: Shoulder to Shoulder
(UNITY, N.H.) At first it was toe to toe, but today it was shoulder to shoulder, according to Hillary Clinton, who took the stage with Barack Obama for the first time as his supporter.
"We may have started on separate paths but today our paths have merged," she told a crowd of roughly 4,000. "Today our hearts are set on the same destination for America."
The formal rivals appeared good-humored and at ease on stage, often whispering and patting each other on the back. They even dressed in a similar shade of blue, which aides deny was a coordinated effort. Clinton wore her trademark pants suit in shade of baby blue, while Obama wore a matching tie.
Clinton, who won the New Hampshire primary last January, encouraged her supporters to back Obama. "To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Senator McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider," she said.
Obama was in particularly good mood today, as he told the crowd, "She rocks, she rocks," referring to Clinton. He praised Clinton for the strides that her campaign made on behalf of women, noting that his daughters will benefit from her efforts. "They can take for granted that women can do anything that the boys can do, and do it better and to it in heels," Obama said and then joked, "I don't know how she does it in heels!" Clinton laughed with the crowd.
When the event wrapped, Clinton's aides said Bill and Hillary Clinton made online contributions of $2,300 each to Obama's general election fund.
Despite all of the anticipation and hype today, the united front only lasted for a few hours. Obama is headed back to Washington, D.C. this afternoon while Clinton is heading to New York City. Neither campaign has confirmed when their next appearance will be or when Clinton will stump for Obama.