Clinton summons her donors to meet and make up with Obama
Defeated U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is to bring together Barack Obama and her top campaign donors in a bid to soothe their frustrations over his campaign.
A meeting is set for next Thursday in Washington, just over three weeks after Mr Obama beat Mrs Clinton to the Democratic nomination.
It follows complaints from several Clinton backers that Obama aides have acted arrogantly towards them since the nomination was decided three weeks ago, according to sources within the former First Lady's fundraising team.
State of the union: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are reported to be struggling to merge their campaigns after months of bitter rivalry (file picture)
Donors were told about the meeting yesterday and urged to attend by Jonathan Mantz, who ran Mrs Clinton's campaign finances.
'The challenge is reaching out to donors to ask them for money for a candidate that they've been on the opposite side of for a year and a half,' said Alexander Heckler, finance chairman for the Clinton campaign in Florida.
'However, we have to take a deep breath and realise that we need to all work together and have a Democratic president elected.'
Among other things, the donors want to make sure Mr Obama knows that to get their help he needs to help Mrs Clinton pay off her campaign debt.
The former rivals will meet with two different groups at Washington's Mayflower Hotel - one including donors who raised $250,000 for the Clinton campaign and another with 30 fundraisers who collected $1 million or more.
Another Clinton fundraiser insisted there was no rift between the formerly opposed camps.
'The Obama campaign has reached out to the Clinton people,' said Hassan Nemazee, Mrs Clinton's national finance co-chairman.
'The reality is that we're two weeks from the day that the last primary was held,' he added. 'It takes a little while for staff to talk to each other, for lay organisations to talk to one another.'
