Hillary Gears Up to Campaign with Obama; McCain Appears with Arnold; Dobson Takes Swipe at Obama, Dem Hopeful Hits Back
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the Clintons stay in the picture. She's back at her day job, talking to reporters. He's out with a new statement about Barack Obama. We're tracking their sensitive relationship with the presumptive Democratic nominee. Also, John McCain adds star power to his energy policy rollout. But Arnold Schwarzenegger and McCain don't entirely see eye to eye. This hour, conflict in California. And a new slap at Obama from the religious right, a top evangelical leader accusing the Democrat of distorting the Bible. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Well, begin with Hillary Clinton, she was welcomed back to the U.S. Senate today by open arms by Democrats eager to unite their party. She showed no outward sign of her disappointing defeat by Barack Obama, but she faced some serious questions about her future relationship with Obama and her political ambitions. Senator Clinton spoke off camera but on the record with reporters for the first time since she suspended her campaign. Listen to this audiotape of some of the Q&A.;</s>QUESTION: What is your role?</s>SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My role is to be the very best senator I can be and to represent the greatest state in our country.</s>QUESTION: Last week a member of the Congressional Black Caucus said that you're not interested in becoming vice president. Is that...</s>CLINTON: I am not seeking any other position.</s>QUESTION: But are you not interested?</s>CLINTON: You know, it is not -- it is not something that I think about. This is totally Senator Obama's decision and that's the way it should be.</s>QUESTION: Senator Clinton, tell me about your event in New Hampshire that's coming up. Senator McCain has made a concerted effort to go after some of your voters. What's your message to your supporters and the party generally?</s>CLINTON: Well, it is that anyone who voted for me has very little in common with the Republican Party. If you care about the issues I care about and the future that I outlined during my campaign, then you really have to stay with us in the Democratic Party and vote for Senator Obama to be our next president. On Friday, I will be with Senator Obama in Unity, New Hampshire, which is well-named for the occasion, and it is particularly significant because it is an area where Senator Obama and I each got exactly the same number of votes. So, this is going to be a symbolic event that I hope will rally the Democratic Party behind our nominee.</s>BLITZER: Let's discuss all of this with our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley. She's here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Candy, what struck you about Senator Clinton's remarks today?</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She -- the totality of those remarks which struck me is, I have learned on the campaign trail how very important it is that Democrats not only seize the White House but that we add to our numbers in the Senate. It was very much Hillary Clinton, the party player. As you know, there are some hard feelings up on Capitol Hill, both on her side, where she saw some of her longtime colleagues not endorsing her, but, in fact, going over to Barack Obama. But on the other side, where some people on Capitol Hill, lawmakers and staffers say, you know, she went too far when she was roughing him up. It was unnecessary, and at times they didn't seem like team players. It seemed to be about her getting the nomination. So, this was very much Hillary Clinton, party player, Hillary Clinton, I'm going to do the best job I can as the senator from New York.</s>BLITZER: What kind of hurdles, other hurdles, does she face?</s>CROWLEY: Well, what's interesting here is here is a woman who won 18 million votes returning to the Senate now. And it's hard for that to translate into Senate terms. The Senate is rule-bound, it is tradition-bound, it is seniority-bound. She is 34th in seniority on the Democratic side of things, out of 51, so it's going to be hard for her to have a chairmanship, that kind of thing, yet she is still very visible. They're going to want her to help raise money, various senators. They're going to want her at their side when they're trying to push a bill. So, she has got this brand name that needs a little refurbishing up there, but it's still very strong. And they're going to find a very key way to use her in this election.</s>BLITZER: And we heard from the former president, Bill Clinton, today. What is he saying?</s>CROWLEY: We did. In fact, his office put out a statement, let me just read it to you. As you know, there were questions yesterday when he sort of turned aside a weekend question about when he was going to endorse Barack Obama. Here's what his spokesman had to say: "President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States." So clearly they are, again, sensitive to this party player idea, the idea that they would drag their feet. Both very -- not concerned, but aware of their role in the party and the Clinton name. So, the president's office coming out today and saying, listen, of course he's going to support him.</s>BLITZER: We're going to have lots more on the Clintons coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Candy Crowley reporting. Now that Hillary Clinton is back at her day job, she may move down on the list of senators with the most missed votes. Check out the top five. They're all current or former presidential candidates except for Tim Johnson, who has been recovering from brain surgery. The latest tally by The Washington Post shows John McCain has missed the most Senate votes, 61 percent. Barack Obama is third, missing over 42 percent of the votes. Clinton is fourth, missing nearly 33 percent of those votes. Let's get to John McCain right now. He's trying to put a bigger spotlight on his energy plan with help from California's larger-than- life governor. But there were some bumps in the McCain/Arnold Schwarzenegger road show today, including protests and a biting response from Barack Obama. Let's go to Dana Bash. She's watching this story for us. Dana, McCain turned to Arnold Schwarzenegger even though they do have some major disagreements on energy.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, he did. But, you know, Schwarzenegger decided to focus today on their common ground when it comes to the environment. And despite protests against some of McCain's recent proposals, for the second day in a row he pushed a new energy-related idea, to convince voters, at least try to convince them, he's looking for solutions.</s>BASH (voice-over): A joint appearance with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and an environmental plug from California's green Republican governor.</s>GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Once Senator McCain is in the White House, America will get back to the game of having a sensible, consistent and forward-looking energy policy.</s>BASH: John McCain tried to live up to that by arguing federal buildings and cars should lead the way in fuel efficiency.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I propose to put the purchasing power of the United States government on the side of green technology.</s>BASH: Outside the event, protesters, decrying McCain's reversal last week to support offshore drilling, unpopular in California. Schwarzenegger strongly opposes offshore drilling. An adviser told CNN the governor planned to make his differences with McCain known here, but instead engaged little in the panel discussion. But McCain did get an earful on offshore drilling from another invited guest.</s>MICHAEL FEENEY, LAND TRUST FOR SANTA BARBARA: It would be 12, 15, maybe 20 years before those resources came on-line and got to full production. That's not going to impact the price of gasoline anytime soon.</s>BASH: Meanwhile in neighboring Nevada...</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain still doesn't get it.</s>BASH: ... Barack Obama seized on this from McCain a day earlier on offshore drilling.</s>MCCAIN: Well, it may take some years. The fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have a psychological impact that I think is beneficial.</s>OBAMA: A psychological impact. In case you're wondering, in Washington-speak, what that means is, it polls well.</s>BASH: And he mocked McCain's idea for a $300 million cash prize for inventing an alternative car battery.</s>OBAMA: When John F. Kennedy decided that we were going to go put a man on the Moon, he didn't put a bounty out for some rocket scientist to win. He put the full resources of the United States government behind the project and called on the ingenuity and innovation of the American people.</s>BASH: McCain advisers responded that by devoting $300 million taxpayer dollars to innovation, McCain is putting the government resources behind an idea, but also trying to spur private sector competition. And the McCain camp also accused Obama of not understanding oil markets, insisting the promise of more oil from drilling should have a psychological effect, as McCain talked about, one that could potentially help lower gas prices -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: And, Dana, the McCain camp also has a new line that they're using against Barack Obama.</s>BASH: Right, what they're trying to develop inside the McCain campaign is a theme on the idea that Obama is supportive and a part of inaction in Washington, because they think that is something that burns up the voters more than anything else. So what they have talked about on a conference call earlier today and also in a statement that they just put out, over and over, calling Barack Obama "Dr. No." That is something that we heard from them and clearly are going to hear from them, expect much more often as they try to paint Barack Obama as somebody who is for inaction now. Obviously we should point out that Obama does have some proposals when it comes to the energy and the environment, like, for example, he does support a windfall profits tax on oil companies. And it's a little dicey, Wolf, for the McCain campaign to be talking about this, because McCain himself voted against several energy proposals in the Senate.</s>BLITZER: Dana, thanks for that. Let's go right to Jack Cafferty. He has got the "Cafferty File" -- Jack.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, women who supported Hillary Clinton during the primaries are suddenly the belles of the ball. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton getting ready to woo her supporters, but John McCain wants them, too. Polls suggest that Obama leads McCain when it comes to women. But what if McCain picked a woman as his vice presidential nominee? The Politico looked at McCain's options for filling out the Republican ticket, noting that any of these women would be a symbolic turn away from Dick Cheney, quote, "the ultimate D.C. old boy's club insider," unquote. Although some have suggested Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, she has repeatedly said she's not interested. So that leaves McCain with these choices. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, at 44 she would add youth to the ticket. Lord knows they could use that. Palin may not be well-known nationally, but she's one of the country's most popular governors, with approval ratings as high as 90 percent. She's also stridently anti-abortion, recently giving birth to her fifth child who she knew beforehand would have Down syndrome. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO, Carly Fiorina, another option. Fiorina is in charge of preparing the party's crucial get-out-the-vote operation. She has been all over the campaign trail, on TV supporting McCain, and has become one of the campaign's top economic advisers. And there's Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas, the longest-serving female Republican senator. Hutchison has held key posts within the party, she has been a surrogate for McCain in the race, and has proven that she can get out the Hispanic vote. Although Republican insiders point to downsides for each of these three women, they say a woman on the ticket could add some excitement to McCain's candidacy. And in case you hadn't noticed, the Republicans are a little short on excitement these days. Here's the question. Would John McCain's selection of a woman as vice president help him get some of Hillary Clinton's supporters? Go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, you can post your comment on my blog -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: It's an interesting question, I suspect it couldn't hurt. But let's see if it could actually help, right?</s>CAFFERTY: We'll find out.</s>BLITZER: Jack, stand by. The McCain camp is trying to protect the candidate from any fallout after an adviser suggested the Republican would benefit from a new terror attack.</s>MITT ROMNEY (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They want to be characterized by their positions on issues and John McCain's is record is somebody who knows foreign policy, knows what it takes to protect America and understands how the economy works.</s>BLITZER: Former McCain rival turned ally, Mitt Romney, our interview coming up. Plus, a top evangelical stinging criticism of Barack Obama, James Dobson saying the Democrat has a "fruitcake view of the Constitution." And Nancy Pelosi says Hillary Clinton isn't the only powerful woman who has been subject to sexism. The house speaker speaking out. Stay with us, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.