Clinton and Obama Conciliatory at AIPAC

It was the morning after the heated primary season had come to an end, the Democrats finally had their nominee. Sen. Barack Obama clinched the nomination, gathering up enough delegates and superdelegates to announce his victory on the day of the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota.

Sen. Hillary Clinton addresses the AIPAC policy conference in Washington, D.C.

And thanks to the convenient scheduling of a large and important conference on Israel, the presumptive nominee and the onetime Democratic front-runner, Sen. Hillary Clinton, would speak back to back in Washington, D.C., at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference.

Obama spoke first and was greeted fondly by the mostly Jewish audience that he had made special efforts to attract during the primaries. "We had an eventful night last night," Obama declared eliciting a raucous response from the crowd. "And my staff and I may still be a little bleary eyed."

Obama complimented Clinton for making history with him: "I want to publicly acknowledge Hillary Clinton for the outstanding race that she has run," he said. And looking toward the general election, he tried to put a stop to E-mail rumors that have reverberated through the Jewish community that he is a Muslim (Obama is a Christian) and took his oath of office on a Koran (he took his oath on the Bible).

He expressed unwavering support for Israel and a commitment to assisting with the peace process in the Middle East. "As president, I will work to help Israel achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security," Obama said. "And I won't wait until the waning days of my presidency." Obama left to a standing ovation, shaking the hand of every AIPAC board member seated on stage, and then ran into Clinton backstage, where the two briefly chatted, according to an AP report.

Minutes later, as Clinton came to the podium, she refrained from an all-out endorsement of Obama, opting rather for a continuation of her long goodbye. "I know Senator Obama understands what is at stake here," she said. "It's an honor to call him my friend, and let me be clear—I know Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel."

While her role now in the Democratic Party is up in the air, with some speculation that she may be interested in the vice presidency, today she played the role of Democratic cheerleader. "The United States stands with Israel now and forever," she told the audience. "And let me underscore this: I believe we need a Democrat in the White House next January." Though she wasn't using his name, there was an understanding in the audience that the Democrat she must be referring to was Sen. Barack Obama.