MELISSA BLOCK, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
And I'm Robert Siegel. The campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton released a joint statement today. Both their names will be placed in nomination at the convention in Denver. In other words, not just Senator Obama but his primary-season rival as well.
The question of whether Senator Clinton's name would be placed in nomination, whether there would be a roll-call vote, has been the subject of great speculation and evidently of some negotiation between the two campaigns.
Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic has been following this story and joins us now. What has been agreed to, actually?
Mr. MARC AMBINDER (The Atlantic): Well, it has been agreed that Senator Clinton's name will be submitted to nomination alongside that of Senator Obama's, and on Wednesday night, August 28th, her name will appear alongside his in the formal roll call.
SIEGEL: There will then be a call of the states, the delegates…
Mr. AMBINDER: A call of the states, as has been, you know, a feature of every convention in modern times. And Clinton's delegates, of whom there will be around 1,800 on the floor, will have the opportunity, if they want, to vote for her.
SIEGEL: Will there be a nominating address and seconding addresses, or do we know yet?
Mr. AMBINDER: That has yet to be worked out. The campaigns of Clinton and Obama are still negotiating the choreography, and this will be choreographed because, of course, neither side wants anything that will embarrass them or the other.
SIEGEL: Online today, you have the altogether boring news that this was arrived at without great vituperation or violence between the two camps.
Mr. AMBINDER: We reporters have a bias for conflict, and unfortunately in this case we didn't find any. In fact, a lot of what's been reported about the negotiations turned out to be the opposite of what was actually happening.
Senator Clinton was the one who was resisting having her name put in nomination, in part because she concluded, quite correctly, that whatever result, whatever total she achieves from the roll-call vote, will wind up being less than the number of delegates that she entered the convention with.
Also she is over this. She wants to move on. But Senator Obama's campaign wants a unified convention, no disruptions, no protests, wants to bring Senator Clinton's delegates on board, and realizes that if the delegates don't believe that they've been given their due, they'll be upset.
SIEGEL: So we should expect much acknowledgement at the convention of the historic achievement that was the Clinton campaign, even though it was an unsuccessful campaign for the nomination.
Mr. AMBINDER: Absolutely. I mean, Wednesday night may well be a celebration of the first African-American to be nominated and the first woman whose name was placed in serious contention and, depending on, again, how the choreography is worked out, Senator Clinton will play a pretty significant role in perhaps putting Senator Obama over the top.
SIEGEL: How important do you think it is to the Obama campaign that they should come out of the Denver convention stronger among Clinton primary voters than they are going in?
Mr. AMBINDER: It's absolutely critical. Seventy-two percent of Clinton voters in the primary, roughly an average of 72 percent, depending on the polls, say they support Senator Obama, and that's just not enough.
He needs more Clinton supporters to vote for him, and he needs Senator Clinton to do everything she can and the high-profile supporters of Senator Clinton to do everything they can to present a picture of unity.
SIEGEL: So they've negotiated a role for Hillary Clinton at the convention. Do you know if they've negotiated a role for Bill Clinton at the convention?
Mr. AMBINDER: Well, Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak on Wednesday. I spoke yesterday to someone who is helping President Clinton put together a speech, and it will be full of praise for Barack Obama and for the historic moment, perhaps more praise than some who have been watching the dance between President Clinton and Senator Obama might expect.
No question that there is some lingering tension, but President Clinton, I am told, recognizes that the moment is Senator Obama's and that for the sake of President Clinton's own legacy, he needs to be 100 percent in support.
SIEGEL: Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic, thank you very much.
Mr. AMBINDER: My pleasure.
SIEGEL: And one final note from the New York Times today. Though Senator Clinton's name will be placed in nomination, aides to Clinton say that she will cast her vote for Senator Obama and will ask her supporters to do the same. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.