Bill Clinton ready to hit the campaign trail

Former President Bill Clinton said Thursday he will go out on the campaign trail on behalf of Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee who bested Clinton's wife in a long and bitter nomination battle.

Clinton and Obama spoke briefly to reporters after the two men had lunch in New York City on Thursday. Obama was in town to commemorate the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

{mosads}Clinton said he will start campaigning for Obama as soon as he is done with work on the Clinton Global Initiative.

"We're putting him to work," Obama said.

Clinton, when asked how frequently he would be campaigning for Obama, said that he has "agreed to do a substantial number of things, whatever I'm asked to do."

Clinton was asked for his thoughts on the state of Obama's race against Republican candidate John McCain and responded that he thinks Obama will win, and win "pretty handily."

"There you go," Obama said. "You can — you can take it from the president of the United States. He knows a little something about politics."

The former president was often at the heart of some of the Democratic nomination battle's most contentious moments as he came to his wife's defense. The first two days of the Democratic National Convention were dominated by questions about the level of Clinton's support for his wife's formal rival.

Spokesmen for Clinton and Obama put out a joint statement following the lunch, noting that while the two men did discuss the election, they "mostly talked about how the world has changed since September 11, 2001."

"Sen. Obama praised the work of the Clinton Foundation around the world and President Clinton applauded Sen. Obama's historic campaign which has inspired millions around the country," the statement read. "They also spoke about what the next president can do to help make the economy work for all Americans, as it did under President Clinton, and ensure safety and prosperity far beyond the coming the election. President Clinton said he looks forward to campaigning for Sen. Obama later this month.”