Call Me, If You Need A Friend

WASHINGTON -- It was a tough call to make no doubt, but Ellen Malcolm managed.

The Emily's List founder, a devout supporter of Hillary Clinton's campaign and frequent surrogate for the NY senator in her bid to win the White House, phoned Barack Obama Friday to say she would do whatever he needs to defeat John McCain.

Malcolm told supporters today at the group's annual donor luncheon at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Woodley Park that she was pleased Obama was receptive to her overture. Her speech, however, was heavy on praise for Clinton, saying she showed that a "woman has what it takes to be president of the Untied States." Every woman running for office from now on will walk a "smoother path" because of Clinton's fight, Malcolm added, noting that she's proud of the role Emily's List played in Clinton's "historic campaign."

"For Emily's List and for me personally, the choice was always clear," Malcolm said. "We wanted Hillary Clinton to be our president. For those of us who support Hillary, this is a challenging time. One of many emotions. Hillary was a magnificent candidate."

Still, Malcolm said the Democrats face a crucial contest this fall and that it's time for the party and Emily's List, which endorses progressive female candidates who support abortion rights, to move forward.

"I'm meandering my way through various stages of grief: sadness, bargaining, anger, and my personal favorite, dessert," Malcolm added. "So for the sake of my waistline, much less the sake of the party and the country, I will follow the lead of Hillary Clinton when I say, it is time to come together."

Malcolm said she made a pledge to Obama. "I told him I would do all I could to help unite our party to defeat John McCain and elect him president," she said.

And, in the wake of the Democrats' primary feud, she reminded her donors -- and her largely female supporters -- that there is a distinct difference between Obama and McCain on the issues that matter to the party, from universal health care to economic policies to strengthen the middle class to a timely withdrawal from Iraq.

"Our agenda stands in sharp contrast to John McCain and the Republican candidates across the country, and never forget it," Malcolm said.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, also a Clinton supporter, headlined the event, which featured speeches from two African-American leaders: Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), a Clinton backer, and incoming Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), who supported Obama.

"Nothing warms my heart more than a truly bipartisan crowd," Albright said, prompting laughter.

On a more serious note, she added: "The other party would like nothing better than to divide us, and they would have us believe that the interests of African Americans and the interests of women are somehow in opposition. I can only wonder what Rep. Tubbs Jones and Donna Edwards think of that."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)