Clinton quiets efforts to make her vice president

WASHINGTON (AP) ‘ Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday disavowed efforts by some supporters who have urged Barack Obama to choose her as his running mate. The push-back came a day after the former first lady said she would end her quest for the Democratic nomination and endorse the Illinois senator.
‘She is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her,’ communications director Howard Wolfson said. ‘The choice here is Senator Obama’s and his alone.’
Clinton was planning an event in Washington on Saturday to thank supporters and urge them to back Obama’s candidacy. But as she was bowing out of the race, supporters in Congress and elsewhere were ramping up a campaign to pressure him to put her on the ticket.
Bob Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television and a Clinton supporter, sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus Wednesday urging the group to encourage Obama to choose Clinton as his vice presidential pick. He said he was doing so with her blessing.
Obama is seeking to become the first black president.
Clinton has told other friends and supporters she would be willing to be Obama’s running mate. But her immediate task is bringing her own presidential bid to a close.
In an e-mail to supporters, the New York senator said she ‘will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.’
Clinton expressed the same sentiment in a conference call with 40 members of her national finance committee, whom she urged to begin raising money for Obama and for the Democratic National Committee.
‘She was in good spirits and totally supportive, without qualification, of Senator Obama and his campaign,’ finance co-chairman Alan Patricof said of the call.
It was a shift in tone by the former first lady, who announced 17 months ago that she was ‘in it to win it.’ Many of her supporters want her as the vice presidential candidate, in their minds a ‘dream ticket’ that would bring Obama her enthusiastic legions and broaden his appeal to white and working-class voters.
On his campaign plane, Obama praised Clinton for inspiring millions of voters and said she had opened the doors for his two young daughters to imagine being president one day.
‘We’re going to speak to them but also listen to them and get advice,’ he said of Clinton’s campaign team.
Obama also said he would welcome help from former President Clinton, calling him an ‘enormous talent.’
Earlier, Obama indicated he intends to take his time making a decision about inviting Hillary Clinton to join the ticket.