Obama Reworking TARP To Reduce Foreclosures -- And Win Over Congress
The Wall St. Journal reports that the Obama transition team is working some key new conditions into the Wall St. bailout, in order to win Congressional authorization for the remaining $350 billion. The bailout would now place new restrictions on recipients, and funds would also be used for additional purposes such as preventing foreclosures.

Obama Meeting With Calderon Today
Barack Obama is meeting in Washington today with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, a customary practice for presidents-elect before their inauguration. A big topic of discussion will reportedly be the Mexico drug war.

Bush Holding Final Press Conference
President Bush is holding a 9:15 a.m. press conference today, which is believed to be his final presser before leaving office.

Voinovich Expected To Announce Retirement
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) is expected to announce today that he won't be running for a third term in 2010. The new development sets up this big swing state for what should be a very heated open-seat race.

Today: Burris' Lawyers In Washington
Roland Burris' attorneys will be in Washington today to press the Senate leadership on the legality of Burris' appointment to the Illinois Senate seat. This comes after Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White issued a certified copy of Burris' certificate of appointment -- though he did not sign the appointment itself -- and after the state Supreme Court declared that the appointment was legal under Illinois law regardless of White's signature.

The Forecast For Inauguration Day: Cold, But Dry
The weather forecast for January 20, Inauguration Day, currently predicts temperatures in the high 30s in Washington, with sunny skies and no precipitation. The New York Times points out that this is comparable to the sunny and cold weather for Bill Clinton's two inaugurals, and better than the foggy or icy weather that George W. Bush had for his two events.

WaPo: The Audacity Of Terry
The Washington Post reports that Terry McAuliffe's candidacy for governor of Virginia seems to be going against just about every fundamental assumption of state politics: "that successful candidates must have deep roots in Virginia, that they must spend years cultivating support in local and state party organizations and that, if they are Democrats, they must stay connected with conservative-minded Virginians by keeping their distance from the national party."

Bush 41: Jeb Should Run For President -- But Probably Not Right Now
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, George H.W. Bush said that his son Jeb should run for president. That said, Bush the Elder did seem to allude to the current status of the Bush name: "I mean, right now is probably a bad time, because we've had enough Bushes in there."

Obama Family Spending First Full Day In Washington
Barack Obama and his family have now moved to Washington, in order for the children to start school on time. The family have travelled separately and are temporarily staying in a Washington hotel, while Obama himself is preparing to work on his economic stimulus package.

Reid On Blago Phone Call Story: Blago's Behavior "Regrettable And Reprehensible"
Harry Reid released a statement Saturday night tearing into Rod Blagojevich, in the wake of media reports that he had called Blago shortly before the scandal broke and asked him not to appoint Jesse Jackson Jr., Emil Jones or Danny Davis to the Senate. "Gov. Blagojevich appears to be trying to distract attention from his daunting legal problems and damaged credibility by distorting information about private phone calls between himself and other public officials," said Reid. "It is regrettable and reprehensible."

Burris Not Ruling Out Lawsuit, Reid Leaves Senate Door Slightly Open
Roland Burris says he is not ruling out a lawsuit to force the U.S. Senate to seat him in the Senate. Meanwhile, Harry Reid says the Senate is on firm legal ground in denying Burris his place in the Senate -- but did seem to leave the door open to negotiation on this point.

Cheney: "We've Done Some Very Good Things"
In an interview on Face The Nation, Dick Cheney demurred when asked whether the country is better off after the last eight years: "We've done some very good things over the course of the last eight years." Cheney was also asked about warrant-less surveillance, Guantanamo Bay and torture/interrogation techniques, and said he would do it all again.

NYT: Europe More Willing To Work With Obama -- But It Could Still Be Tough
The New York Times reports that European leaders are ready to work with Barack Obama in a much better way than they interacted with George W. Bush, but many challenges still lay ahead. Two major sticking points will be the current American plans to establish missile defense bases near Russia, plus the matter of resettling Guantanamo Bay prisoners in other countries.

McAuliffe Officially Running For Virginia Governor
Terry McAuliffe made it official on Saturday that he is running for governor of Virginia. McAuliffe faces two other Democrats in a contested primary, but could be a very serious candidate, as he is expected to raise tens of millions of dollars for the campaign and to put forward his résumé as a businessman.

Gaza Crisis Posing Tough Questions For Obama And Bush
The fighting in Gaza is shaping up to be the first international crisis facing Barack Obama -- and he hasn't even been sworn in yet, while the Obama transition team is thus far deferring to the Bush Administration on the question. "As the fighting in Gaza shows, however," the New York Times points out, "events in the world do not necessarily wait for Inauguration Day in the United States."

Obama Goes To The Bathroom
The traveling press pool on Barack Obama's attempted Hawaii vacation have thus far documented the president-elect visiting a high school friend, getting some food -- and going to the bathroom.

Klobuchar: Senate Should Seat Recount Winner, Pending Litigation
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is calling for the Senate to provisionally seat the winner of the state's recount -- who at this point looks like it will be Al Franken -- even though the race won't be officially settled due to an expected post-recount election contest in court. Minnesota law officially prohibits a full certification of a victory until a contest proceeding is over, which could prevent the seating of a Senator for weeks or perhaps even a month or two.

Terry McAuliffe -- And His Money -- Making Mark On Virginia Gov Race
The Washington Post reports that Terry McAuliffe's fundraising operation is making a big impact on the Virginia gubernatorial race, with many observers believing that he could spend up to $80 million on the race. Randal Kirk, major state Democratic fundraiser who has committed to supporting McAuliffe, said that McAuliffe can instantly appeal to voters: "He has an astonishingly strong personality."

RNC Members Call Special Meeting To Host Candidates
In the latest sign that the race for RNC chairman is really heating up, committee members have for the first time ever called their own special RNC meeting, without orders from the national party. The meeting is being held as a forum for the candidates now running for the chairmanship, so it shouldn't come as a shock that it was called outside the auspices of the national leadership -- after all, the current party chairman Mike Duncan is in a tough fight for re-election against a wide field of challengers.

Caroline Kennedy: "You Know"
Ben Smith points out that during her interview with the New York Times, Caroline Kennedy used the phrase "you know" to fill in pauses a total of 142 times.

Terry Mac is back.

Terry McAuliffe, the former DNC chairman and (very) enthusiastic national chairman of Hillary Clinton's candidacy, has officially filed papers for a possible run for governor of Virginia in 2009, a move that has been expected for quite some time. McAuliffe will now embark on a tour of the state to make his final decision.

McAuliffe brings a background in business and political fundraising that could potentially make him a strong candidate, but on the other hand he's late into this game -- there are already two Dem candidates officially in the race who have spent a while building up their organizations.

On top of that, Terry might have some problems thanks to the colorful image that he cultivated during the Hillary campaign. Here's our greatest hits from that period:

Terry McAuliffe irked plenty of Obama supporters with his eternally jovial but aggressive advocacy for Hillary during the Dem primary, but now McAuliffe is set to make amends -- he's finalizing plans to put his unique species of garrulousness at Obama's disposal.

McAuliffe has agreed to campaign extensively for Obama in his longtime home state of Virginia -- and he's in discussions with Obama advisers about the possibility of doing as many as two dozen or more events, according to advisers to both men.

McAuliffe's first Virginia event is set for September 24th at a high school in Chesterfield County, where he'll speak on Obama's behalf, Tracy Sefl, a top aide to McAuliffe, confirms. McAuliffe will be a counterweight to former Virginia Senator George Allen, who will speak at the school on John McCain's behalf a week earlier.

Obama advisers say that McAuliffe will be pressed into service to advocate in particular for Obama's health care plan. "Terry clearly has facility with the issue," says Kevin Griffis, Obama's Virginia press rep, adding that the Obama camp is hoping for multiple events from McAuliffe. "People know him from his work with the Clintons, and he's a passionate supporter. We feel like he's someone who can talk to people from all walks of life."

McAuliffe has done extensive media appearances for Obama, especially during the Dem convention, but his planned events in Virginia will be his first actual on-the-trail campaigning for him.

McAuliffe, of course, also has his own reasons for traveling the state: He's considering a run for Governor in 2009.

Late Update: McAuliffe is also hitting the trail in Philly this Saturday.

Tonight: Obama's Acceptance Speech, And Good Weather
Barack Obama will give his big speech tonight at Invesco Field, ceremonially accepting the Democratic nomination before a packed football stadium on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. And Nature seems to be on his side: The weather forecast for Denver tonight predicts mild temperatures and no precipitation that might have ruined his outdoor speech.

Obama And Biden To Embark On Bus Tour After Convention
The full Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, plus their wives Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, will be heading off on a bus tour through three key swing states after the convention is over. The first stop is tomorrow in Beaver, Pennsylvania, with the tour set to also take them through Ohio and Michigan.

McCain In Ohio Tonight
John McCain will be traveling to Ohio tonight, where he's expected to kick off a pre-convention campaign swing that will include the announcement of his running mate. Press reports indicate that McCain has made his final decision of who his running mate will be, leaving us all to await the announcement.

Report: Rove Worked To Stop Potential Lieberman Veep Pick
Jonathan Martin reports that Karl Rove himself, concerned over John McCain's ability to hold on to the conservative base, approached Joe Lieberman and asked him to tell John McCain not to pick him for vie president. Lieberman reportedly turned down the request.

Connecticut Delegates Demand Lieberman Be Punished
The Hill reports that many Connecticut's delegates to the Democratic Convention are adamant that Joe Lieberman be punished by the Democratic Party for his support of John McCain. "I can't wait until we expand our majority in the Senate so he can be stripped of his committee," said Jennifer Just, a delegate from Woodbridge.

Bobby Rush: Obama Became A Better Pol After I Beat Him
Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush, who easily turned back a primary challenge in 2000 from an unknown state senator named Barack Obama, told Roll Call that the 2000 race made Obama a better candidate: "He took the loss very seriously and the it taught him a little bit about humility. And I believe that it serves him well now -- having a humble spirit."

Terry Mac: I Might Run For Governor Of Virginia
Terry McAuliffe, who made his name this campaign as one of the most vociferous and entertaining spokespeople for Hillary Clinton, is apparently considering a run for governor of Virginia in 2009. If McAuliffe runs he will likely have to face a couple candidates who are already lining up support, but nobody can say he isn't energetic on the stump.

Tonight: Hillary's Big Speech
Hillary Clinton will be giving her much-anticipated convention speech tonight, in which she rallies her own supporters to Barack Obama's candidacy. Expect Hillary to talk about the values her campaign stood for, and how Barack Obama will uphold those ideals and John McCain opposes them -- but expect the press to scrutinize it endlessly for some sort of hidden message or insufficient enthusiasm.

Obama In Missouri Today
Barack Obama is in Kansas City today, with an event scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m. ET. Obama is touring targeted swing states before he officially accepts the Democratic nomination in Denver -- he was in Iowa yesterday, is in Missouri today, and will be in Montana tomorrow.

McCain In Arizona And California Today
John McCain is campaigning today in states that aren't expected to be closely contested. First he's addressing the American Legion convention in Phoenix, Arizona, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and then he will travel to California, with a scheduled arrival in San Diego at 8:45 ET.

Ex-Hillary Delegate Turned McCain Supporter: McCain Is For Roe!
At an RNC-sponsored press conference yesterday, former Hillary delegate turned McCain commercial star Debra Bartoshevich claimed it would be okay if McCain became president because he's against overturning Roe v. Wade. In fact, McCain has said multiple times during this campaign that he wants Roe overturned, and she cited a 1999 quote that he's been running away from ever since he first said it.

Some Hillary Supporters To Leave Convention Before Obama Speaks
The Washington Post reports that several top Hillary Clinton advisers will not be staying in Denver for Barack Obama's Thursday night speech -- not exactly a sign of enthusiastic support for Obama. Most notably, Terry McAuliffe will be leaving Denver after Bill Clinton speaks on Wednesday.

Feds: Man Arrested For Threatening Obama Did Not Pose Credible Threat
Authorities say a heavily-armed man arrested in the Denver area on suspicion of making threats against Barack Obama is not a cause for serious concern. "We're absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate, the Democratic National Convention, or the people of Colorado," said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid.

Terry McAuliffe was obviously one of Hillary's most aggressive and high-profile advocates during the primary, but now McAuliffe is really doing his part to help Obama get elected.

We hear McAuliffe will be the main attraction at a unity event for Obama this Thursday, along with Rep. Artur Davis, a top Obama supporter. A source forwards us the invite...

The event is meant to get lawyers and other young professionals who backed Hillary to swing behind Obama -- it's being organized by a bunch of pro-Hillary groups, such as Young Lawyers for Hillary and Young Professionals for Hillary.

Separately, today's Chicago Sun Times caught a glimpse of McAuliffe in Aspen, where he went out of his way to reassure a table-full of Obama supporters: ''We're all on the same team now! This election is too important.''

Just think: Terry McAuliffe, transformed into a lean, mean, unity machine...

Obama To Show Missouri A Patriotism Speech
Barack Obama will be at the Harry Truman Memorial Building in Independence, Missouri, where he will deliver a speech this morning on "what patriotism means to him and what it requires of all Americans who loves this country and want to see it do better," according to the campaign's morning e-mail to reporters. The event is clearly a key move to answer the McCain's recent push to tie every issue to the idea of patriotism, and the notion that McCain is a more loyal American. The doors open for the event at 10 a.m. ET.

John McCain In Pennsylvania Today
John McCain will be spending his time today in Pennsylvania, a major swing state that has not voted Republican for president since it went to George H.W. Bush in 1988, but where McCain is hoping to win working-class voters. McCain will be greeting supporters in Allentown, and then touring a sheet metal factory in Pipersville.

McCauliffe: Obama And Bill Clinton Will Talk Soon
Terry McAuliffe told CNN yesterday that Barack Obama and Bill Clinton will finally talk to each other some time soon, and that Bill will be ready to campaign for Obama soon. "I believe that in the next 24 to 48 hours they will talk and off we will go," McAuliffe said.

McCain Camp: Obama Should Condemn Clark's Comments
John McCain's campaign is demanding that the Obama camp condemn remarks yesterday by Gen. Wesley Clark on CBS' Face The Nation, in which Clark said that McCain's having been shot down in Vietnam was not a qualification to be president. "If Barack Obama wants to question John McCain's service to his country, he should have the guts to do it himself and not hide behind his campaign surrogates," said retired Adm. Leighton Smith in a McCain campaign press release.

Poll: Dead Heat In Virginia
A new SurveyUSA poll of Virginia shows Barack Obama with a statistically insignificant lead of 49%-47%, with a ±4% margin of error. A little over a month ago, Obama had a 49%-42% lead. The vice presidential match-ups also show that Gov. Tim Kaine would not affect the margins, and that Sen. Jim Webb would potentially bring a net three points to the Dem ticket.

Poll: McCain Up By Ten In Georgia
A new Rasmussen poll of Georgia gives John McCain a 53%-43% lead, outside the ±4% margin of error. This is contrary to a recent InsiderAdvantage poll that gave John McCain only a one-point lead, and had native son Bob Barr's presence on the ballot significantly affecting the race. In this Rasmussen poll, Barr only gets one percent.

Barack Obama has taken a major symbolic step towards party unity: In his efforts to help repay Hillary Clinton's debts, he and Michelle have personally donated the maximum $4,600 to Hillary's defunct campaign.

The announcement was made at a joint event with Clinton before a group of her donors in Washington, and was met with applause from the formerly Hillary-backing audience.

Terry McAuliffe proudly showed two checks -- one from the Obama, another from $4,600 from Obama finance chair Penny Pritzker and her husband -- to reporters gathered outside the event.

The Obama camp has installed yet another staffer in a high place at the Democratic National Committee.

WaPo has the scoop on the latest: It's operative Brad Woodhouse, who will now join the DNC's communications staff and help coordinate the DNC's message with that of Obama.

The message control that the Obama camp is trying to achieve at the DNC largely eluded John Kerry, whose advisers feuded with the DNC and even tried to muzzle then-DNC chief Terry McAuliffe when he wanted to aggressively attack Bush's war record, or lack thereof.

Woodhouse is close to two top figures in Obamaland, having worked at different times with Obama top advisers Steve Hildebrand and Robert Gibbs.

And Obama's remaking of the Democratic Party in his own image continues apace.

A Democrat with knowledge of the Obama campaign's rapid takeover of the Democratic National Committee today points out to me that this is partly about ensuring that the Illinois Senator avoids the fate of John Kerry, whose 2004 presidential campaign was hampered by behind-the-scenes battles with the DNC.

You may recall that the DNC chair in 2004 was one Terry McAuliffe, and in his book, McAuliffe wrote about the back-stage infighting between the DNC and Kerry camps. McAuliffe said that Kerry's aides had wanted to oust him; that relations were chilly throughout the campaign; and that the Kerry camp muzzled him when he wanted to assail George W. Bush's military record.

By contrast, upon securing the nomination, Obama very quickly put out a statement showering praise on Howard Dean; is now moving to put staff in all 50-states, in concert with Dean's approach; and is quite literally moving swaths of the DNC to Chicago to create a unified organization with the sort of party-wide message discipline that has eluded Dems in the past.

In the primary, the Obama campaign was famously devoid of (publicly visible) infighting and/or leaking, and clearly, he's taking aggressive steps right now to ensure that this success is duplicated in the general.

Even though the networks have declared Barack Obama the winner of the Democratic nomination, Hillary campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe is whipping up the crowd here at Hillary's victory party.

"Are you ready for her?" McAuliffe shouted. "Are you ready for the next president of the United States of America!"

The crowd roared as if the name Barack Obama was about as significant to them as the name Joe Smith.

As Hillary, Bill and Chelsea come out, the song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is blaring. No matter who you support, no matter how much you like or hate either candidate, it's a poignant scene.

The Associated Press lands the big one (presuming, of course, that it's accurate)...

Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.

The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City. She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.

Terry McAuliffe already said as much publicly this morning, asserting that if Obama clinches the magic number, Hillary will concede.

The AP is now reporting that it will happen tonight.

Late Update: Camp Hillary says not so much, she won't concede tonight.

Did Hillary campaign chair Terry McAuliffe just reveal that Hillary will concede defeat when Obama clinches the magic number of 2,118 delegates?

He certainly appeared to do just that this morning on The Today Show. Here's the exchange...

QUESTION: If Barack Obama reaches that number today or tomorrow do you believe that Sen. Clinton is prepared to concede?

McAULIFFE: Yeah, I think that if Sen. Obama gets the numbers, I think Hillary Clinton will congratulate him, and call him the nominee.

The tell there, I think, is that the questioner asked specifically what she would do if Obama hit the number today or tomorrow. And McAuliffe clearly said, Yes, she'll concede.

We'll see what happens.

Late Update: Here's the video:

Here's Terry McAuliffe on MSNBC this morning, making the Clinton camp's latest case -- that she's winning the popular vote even if you take Michigan out of the equation...

Here's what McAuliffe said:

Today, Mike, we are ahead by 257,000 votes. The difference in Michigan, as you know, was 238,000. So today you can even take Michigan out of it and Hillary's ahead in the votes.

This is actually not true. McAuliffe's latest estimate doesn't include the estimated vote counts in the caucus states of Iowa, Nevada, Maine, and Washington State. If you look at Real Clear Politics' popular vote count, not including Michigan, but including Florida and the aforementioned caucus states, you get:

Obama: 17,723,200

Clinton: 17,588,454

That puts Obama up 134,746 -- without Michigan, but including the aforementioned caucus states. And the results in South Dakota and Montana tomorrow could further shift these numbers.

Another sign of a thaw as the end approaches?

Top Hillary adviser Terry McAuliffe, on Fox tonight, appears to go slightly off-message, saying that, yes, Obama can win the critical swing states in a general election...

"If Senator Obama's the nominee, can we win these states? Of course," McAuliffe said.

To be fair to Camp Hillary, her advisers have generally stopped short of saying Obama can't win in these states. They've generally stuck to the message that Hillary is a better candidate in those states (though Mark Penn at one point said flatly that Obama can't win the general).

But Hillary advisers have of course tried to sow fear among super-dels and others about Obama's prospects in these states, and McAuliffe's comments are tonally a bit out of sync with that.

Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor confirms that Edwards will indeed endorse Obama today.

Edwards couldn't have picked a safer time to endorse -- he did it after it became obvious that the nomination was largely a foregone conclusion. And he did it after Obama lost big in West Virginia, among just the sort of voters Edwards is supposed to have sway among.

While it's true that his endorsement could make a difference in Kentucky, the fact that he waited this long -- and did it after dropping repeated public hints that he would stay neutral -- suggests that this was less than a profile in courage on Edwards' part.

Late Update: On the other hand, if the Obama campaign held this to roll out after the West Virginia loss, which seems probable, the timing in some ways was shrewd.

Late Update: Tracy Russo, the online suprema of the Edwards campaign (when it was in existence), weighs in with a few thoughts on the Edwards announcement, notably asking whether Edwards will end up campaigning for Obama between now and the end of the race. Take a look.

Late Update: The New York Times reports that Edwards had another reason for waiting so long before endorsing Obama: According to his aides, he was expecting Hillary to win, and wanted a position in the administration...

And he had another consideration: how to position himself for a job in the next president's administration. As Mr. Edwards saw it, aides said, Mrs. Clinton seemed to be more likely than Mr. Obama to win the nomination.

Edwards appeared to change his mind after Feb. 5th and Obama's subsequent victories, the paper reports, so this doesn't fully explain why Edwards waited until now.

Late Update: Here's the uncharacteristically lackluster and terse statement on Edwards' endorsement from Hillary campaign chair Terry McAuliffe:

"We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over."

Last week top Hillary adviser Terry McAuliffe said that he thought a joint ticket with Obama and Hillary would be a "great idea."

Now another very prominent Hillary supporter -- a major institutional player in the Democratic party -- is adding his voice to the chorus-to-be:

(CNN) -- Governor Ed Rendell's name has recently come up as a potential running mate for Barack Obama, but the Pennsylvania Governor said Wednesday, why settle for a Clinton supporter when you can have the real deal...

"If Senator Obama becomes our nominee and he wants someone to carry the Clinton banner there's no question in my mind he should ask Hillary Clinton," Rendell told CNN's Kyra Phillips.

Noted without comment, other than to refer you back to this site's prediction last week that the public enthusiasm of Hillary supporters for an Obama-Hillary ticket will rise in direct proportion to their growing realization that Obama is the party's presumptive nominee.

Okay, it's not quite happy hour yet, but that's something we're willing to be very flexible about here at TPM Election Central. So here's some must-reading...

* Ben Smith has an excellent take-down of the bogus notion that Hillary could have won if only she'd cracked the Obama-struggling-with-blue-collar-whites code earlier. Short version: It's the calendar, stupid.

* Mark Halperin reports that Terry McAuliffe says the Hillary camp has bought airtime in Oregon and Kentucky.

* Big Hillary supporter Chuck Schumer says he's changed his mind about a joint ticket -- he now thinks "they'd be a strong ticket together."

* McClatchy explores a new group that's been set up to push the idea of that joint ticket -- and its connections to Hillary.

* Chris Bowers says that Obama will win the popular vote, and that the "will of the electorate" will have made itself manifestly clear.

* Noam Scheiber reports that Obama campaign insiders are dead set against the idea of retiring Hillary's campaign debt.

* Steve Benen aptly observes that the sparring today between Obama and McCain over what constitutes real support for our veterans is "what campaigns are all about" -- and that it "beats debating pins and pastors."

* Obama is heading to Michigan to start campaigning for the general and to start negotiating a solution to seating the delegation.

This aired last night, but it's worth a quick look as a sign of what's to come.

Here is top Hillary adviser Terry McAuliffe, talking up the idea of a joint ticket in rather glowing terms in an interview that aired on Sirius radio (transcript sent over by the station)...

TERRY MCAULIFFE: Well first of all, as you know Mark, both of them, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are themselves going to have to decide who they think is going to be their best Vice President. For the rest of us it's speculation and presumption and all that.

I'm just -- I'll put on my former chairman of the Democratic Party hat -- I think it's a great idea at the end of this process for us all to be together...

I do get excited about the possibility of having Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton crisscrossing this country in the fall of 2008. I think that would be pretty exciting. But I have absolutely no say in it. Hillary Clinton and I have never talked about it. But as former chairman of the party it does get you somewhat excited.

Prediction: The public enthusiasm among top Hillary supporters for an Obama-Hillary ticket will rise roughly in proportion with their growing recognition that Obama is the party's presumptive nominee.

On one of the morning shows today, top Hillary adviser Terry McAuliffe said that the Dem primary will not -- repeat, not -- be going to the convention:

"It'll be over early June," McAuliffe said. "We've all said we'll be together at the end. If Hillary doesn't win, Hillary, President Clinton, myself, we'll be over there helping Senator Obama. And, likewise, Senator Obama will come together to help Hillary if she's the nominee."

Some will be tempted to think that McAuliffe is deliberately trying to assuage fears of a floor fight in order to prevent party leaders and others from pressing super-delegates to flock to Obama in hopes of ending the contest. And this is certainly possible.

Indeed, today's Wall Street Journal reports -- albeit with very weak sourcing -- that Bill Clinton is privately urging that Hillary take this all the way to the convention. And on the trail today, Bill said that she could still win:

"We are gonna have to resolve Michigan and Florida and when we do she can win the popular vote," Clinton said...

The only thing I can add here is that I have not spoken to a single Hillaryland insider who believes that it actually will come down to a floor fight.

Looks like Hillary top adviser Terry McAuliffe is really upping the ante when it comes to Hillary's ability to throw back shots with the best of 'em.

Hillary, of course, famously downed a shot of whiskey in the run-up to the voting in Pennsylvania, and today, with Hillary's efforts to court blue collar voters at full throttle, McAuliffe expanded a bit on Hillary's affection for tossing 'em back...

McAuliffe, asked whether her shot-tossing is phony, replied that "she loves to sit, throw 'em back," adding that "she actually beat John McCain in a shot contest. She's a girl from Illinois who likes to throw 'em down with the rest of us."

Hmmm. A bit of an embellishment? Here's the original anecdote, as reported by The New York Times, that appears to be the basis of this:

Two summers ago, on a Congressional trip to Estonia, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton astonished her traveling companions by suggesting that the group do what one does in the Baltics: hold a vodka-drinking contest.

Delighted, the leader of the delegation, Senator John McCain, quickly agreed. The after-dinner drinks went so well -- memories are a bit hazy on who drank how much -- that Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, later told people how unexpectedly engaging he found Mrs. Clinton to be. "One of the guys" was the way he described Mrs. Clinton, a New York Democrat, to some Republican colleagues.

McCain subsequently kinda sorta denied it had happened, though he also did say that "it's been 50 years since I'd been in a drinking game," adding that "she can really hold her liquor."

Unclear whether there's any evidence that she won, though.