Lawyer who brokered book deals for Obama, Clintons brokers their political merger

NYT: Democrats in Delicate Talks to Unify Party
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY
Published: June 26, 2008


(Doug Mills/NYT)
Robert B. Barnett is working to merge aspects of the Clinton and Obama campaigns.

WASHINGTON — With the help of one of Washington’s best-connected lawyers, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are negotiating a thicket of complicated issues, like how to repay Mrs. Clinton’s campaign debt and her role at the Democratic convention. The talks come as they try to leave behind their intense rivalry and work out a plan to cooperate this fall.

At Mrs. Clinton’s request, the lawyer, Robert B. Barnett, who has brokered multimillion-dollar book deals for clients including Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton and Bill Clinton, is working to hash out questions large and small as the two camps work toward a political merger. Perhaps the thorniest question — what to do about Bill Clinton, who friends say continues to refight the bitter primary fight — has yet to be raised by either side, advisers said.

On some levels, the melding of the two operations is moving ahead relatively smoothly. Mrs. Clinton will introduce some of her top donors to Mr. Obama on Thursday night in Washington, and on Friday the two of them will appear together at a rally in Unity, N.H. Mr. Obama is in talks to hire one of Mrs. Clinton’s most prominent advisers — Neera Tanden, her policy director — and has hired and dispatched a few of Mrs. Clinton’s field operatives to work in Missouri and Ohio.

But nearly three weeks after Mrs. Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed Mr. Obama, some loyalists, especially on the Clinton side, are having trouble moving on....

***

...(T)he two sides are negotiating precisely what kind of role she will have at the convention, including what night she will make a prime-time speech and whether her name will be placed symbolically into nomination. They are discussing whether Mr. Obama’s campaign will provide a plane and staff for Mrs. Clinton as she travels on his behalf. The talks were described by aides on both sides as complicated, but not hostile. Still, the sheer agenda of discussion items — and the presence of Mr. Barnett, a Washington lawyer who has represented some of the city’s top political and media figures over the years — served as a reminder of what an extraordinarily close competition this was for these two celebrity candidates.

For all that, aides to both senators said their relationship seemed far stronger than that of many of their respective supporters following this combative primary season....

(NOTE: There are many more specifics about issues involved in these negotiations at the link.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/us/politics/26unity.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all

This is what a big tent means. Lawyers broker mergers, make contacts, get rich.

public support of Obama. :sarcasm:

Lawyers?

no surprise there is a lawyer involved, both senators are lawyers and there will be a contract.