Obama considers Clinton role in campaign

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- While Barack Obama wants to focus on the U.S. presidential election, his advisers say they know they must first consider Hillary Clinton and her supporters.

Clinton let it be known she would be open to being his running mate before primaries in Montana and South Dakota ended Tuesday. Obama received enough delegate support to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton, speaking from her home state of New York Tuesday night, said she wasn't making any decisions for a few days. Obama's campaign said the freshman senator from Illinois wants to talk to Clinton soon.

An Obama-Clinton ticket has advantages, observers told The New York Times, such as repairing relations among Clinton's supporters, especially women. Clinton also would provide Obama with foreign policy credentials, a list of contributors and the potential to put more states into play.

"I think the world of both of them," said Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del. "I want to see them run as a team."

Others caution about Obama selecting Clinton as a running mate, especially so soon after the primary season has ended. He wouldn't want to appear to be pressured into the decision, the Times said.

"It's backward-looking to pick a Clinton at this point -- and he's all about forward-looking, to being about change," said Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a moderate Democratic organization. "He's all about a fundamentally new kind of politics. Picking a Clinton is, by definition, backward-looking, and I just don't think he wants that."