In her June 2008 concession speech for the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton pledged to do all she could to propel Barack Obama to the White House. On Tuesday he returned the favour.
After months of waiting on the sidelines, the president hit the campaign trail in what is likely to be the first of many trips to urge voters to pick his one-time rival as his successor. Mr. Obama endorsed Ms. Clinton last month with a forceful video in which he stated that no one had been so qualified for the job. But a joint appearance planned for soon after that was postponed after the mass shooting on June 12.
He has started in North Carolina, a state the President won in the 2008 general election but lost narrowly in 2012. Ms. Clinton wants to reclaim it for Democrats.
Mr. Obama’s first campaign appearance with the former First Lady will close a circle on a relationship that started cordially when the two were colleagues in the U.S. Senate, grew tense when they were rivals in the 2008 race, and became close when Ms. Clinton was Secretary of State during Mr. Obama’s first term. — Reuters
