US presidential hopeful Barack Obama last night asked his finance team to help Hillary Clinton pay off debts of around $10 million from her failed presidential campaign, setting the stage for joint appearances by the two former rivals later in the week.
In a teleconference with his top fundraisers yesterday afternoon, Mr Obama asked them to do what they could to help Mrs Clinton. A campaign spokesman confirmed that Mr Obama had asked them to help the former first lady.
"Some of our donors have asked and Barack said if they have the ability to raise or give money to help on debt, we encourage them to do so," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Mr Obama's green light to his money bundlers came two days before he and Mrs Clinton were scheduled to meet in Washington with some of her top fundraisers in a show of unity after their bruising contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
On Friday, the two planned to campaign together in New Hampshire.
The former first lady reported a $22.5 million debt at the end of May, more than half of which was a personal loan to her presidential campaign. In a call to her top fundraisers last week, said she
Barack Obama has asked his finance team to help Mrs Clinton pay off debts
would concentrate on paying off money owed to vendors, not her personal loans.
Mr Obama's finance team has expanded since he secured the nomination earlier this month, providing a broad base of potential assistance to Mrs Clinton. At least 200 fundraisers attended the campaign's national finance meeting in Chicago last week.
In urging his top fundraisers to help, Mr Obama was counting on them to seek out their pool of donors to raise the money in large increments.
Meanwhile, two weeks after his wife ended her White House bid, former president Bill Clinton offered a faint voice of support for Mr Obama - through a spokesman.
Mr Clinton, who gave the Democratic presidential candidate's energy policy faint praise over the weekend, has not yet said in public that he would support Mr Obama.
"President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States," Mr Clinton's spokesman Matt McKenna told Reuters in a one-sentence e-mail.
AP