In this Sept. 24, 2011, file photo President Barack Obama, right, and former President Bill Clinton talk during a game of golf at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Once a tense rivalry, the relationship between Obama and Clinton has evolved into a genuine political and policy partnership. For Obama, Clinton is a fundraising juggernaut, a powerful reminder to voters that a Democrat ran the White House the last time the economy was thriving. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)ANNE GEARAN
McLEAN, Va. (AP) – There were no bear hugs on display, but President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton looked relaxed and friendly as they began a summer fundraising blitz that demonstrates their shared hopes for Democratic victory despite past differences.
Although Clinton had dismissed Obama in 2008 as undeserving of the presidency his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton was then seeking, on Sunday evening Clinton warmly declared “Barack Obama deserves to be re-elected president of the United States.”
Obama is “beating the clock” to restore the nation’s economy to health, Clinton told about 500 cheering supporters who had paid as little at $1,000 and as much as $20,000 apiece to see, as Obama put it, “two presidents for one.”
Digging out of similar financial holes has historically taken five to 10 years, Clinton said.