Podesta: Bill Clinton would campaign with Obama

Former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta said Wednesday that if asked, ex-President Bill Clinton would likely campaign with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

“That’s up to the Obama campaign,” Podesta told The Hill.

{mosads}Podesta noted that in 2000, Democratic nominee Al Gore did not call on Clinton to campaign with him. At the time, Gore advisers thought Clinton would be a net negative in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. After Gore narrowly lost his race to George W. Bush, that strategy was widely second-guessed.

Democrats are anxiously awaiting Bill Clinton’s speech on Wednesday, but some say Obama and the Clintons will have to do more than just talk to achieve genuine party unity.

Some Democratic insiders say both Clintons will need to appear at events with Obama this fall, and Obama and Bill Clinton must publicly bury the hatchet from the bitter presidential primary.

Hillary Clinton has appeared publicly with Obama since he won the nomination, but Bill Clinton has not. Bill Clinton has also made comments about Obama that have exasperated Democratic insiders.

It remains to be seen if Bill Clinton or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will appear in ads for Obama.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has run ads with video clips of Hillary Clinton criticizing Obama during Democratic debates. Hillary Clinton has disavowed the ads, reiterating her support for Obama.

Podesta, who now heads the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, praised Hillary Clinton’s speech on Tuesday and predicted Bill Clinton would follow suit with a strong address Wednesday night.

He said he talked to Bill Clinton about his speech several weeks ago, adding with a smile that it’s probably gone through 74 drafts since then.