Barack at Hillary's Wake

"THIS is like an Irish wake" said Stella O'Leary, head of Irish American Democrats. We were at the first meeting between Senator Barack Obama and key supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton in Washington last week.

The atmosphere was somber to say the least. How time passes. One year ago in the ballroom of the plush Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. Camp Hillary held a pep rally for key finance committee members. Every big hitter from coast to coast flew in.

Back then she was up 30 points in the polls. She was a certain winner, not just of the nomination, but the White House too. Oh yes, Obama had entered the race, but the polls showed him impossibly behind.

Flash forward to last Thursday night, the same hotel, same ballroom and another Hillary event. Far fewer big hitters, but lots of sad faces expressing amazement that it all went wrong.

This was Hillary's wake, 200 of her top financial people coming together for the last time. But it was a wake with a purpose, to pass the torch on to Obama.

He is now the candidate, and she must be seen to support him. Her supporters must be seen to row in behind him. He must be seen to reach out to those supporters. The process began in earnest on Thursday night.

How power passes is a study in cruelty. Obama entered the room flanked by a dozen or so Secret Service and private security. Clinton entered alone.

In that stark image is contained the essence of the situation. No one ever outshone Clinton in recent times, with the exception perhaps of her husband. Now there is a brighter star.

It was not an easy encounter for Obama with her inner circle. The people in the room had helped raise over $200 million to beat him. Now he was asking for their help.

He did his best, but the hurt clearly remains on both sides of a bloody primary fight. The body language between Obama and Clinton is not good.

She has that fixed stare into the distance when he is speaking, like the girl with faraway eyes. He crosses his arms when she is speaking and pecks her on the cheek when she finishes, like he's kissing the ugly girl on prom night.

Yet they are a joy to behold, a black man and a white woman who have broken more barriers in one year than countless generations of politicians before them.

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Nster.com