Hotline After Dark -- One Step At A Time...

Last night's TV primarily focused on the breaking news that Hillary Clinton plans to suspend her campaign on 6/7.

NPR's Williams: "She's not ending her campaign. She's simply suspending it. It allows her to retain control of those delegates that are pledged to her going into the convention, which means she has some leverage in terms of the conversation about the vice presidential selection" ("On the Record," FNC, 6/4).

CNN's Crowley: "What they see in the Clinton camp is this Saturday speech as the beginning of a multiphase exit. And, by this, they mean that they don't believe that Hillary Clinton can get on the stage, say a lot of nice things about Barack Obama, and then leave. They believe that her voters will want something more and that it will take some time to move them from being so very much for her into his camp" ("AC 360," 6/4).

Newsweek's Alter, on whether Clinton getting out of the race has anything to do with her wanting VP: "I don't think so. I think she just totally misread the mood on Capitol Hill. As one senior Democrat told me a couple of days ago, their anger, speaking of the Clintons is clouding their judgment. She just didn't have a read on how little support she had among fellow Democrats who were very anxious for this to come to a close" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 6/4).

After the jump, more HRC and Obama makes the TV rounds (KATHERINE LEHR).

Bill Richardson: "I'm pleased that she made the statement today of suspending her campaign. She ran a remarkable race. She's a major player in the party. But I would want her to go to one step further. And that is to say, one, that she enthusiastically supports Senator Obama, because it's going to be a tough campaign. And, secondly, that it was a fair process" ("LKL," CNN, 6/4).

Karl Rove: "Not a surprise. In fact, what was a surprise was what we all saw yesterday. ... Injecting her name into the vice presidential sweepstakes and then, last night, you know, refusing to concede the obvious" ("On the Record," FNC, 6/4).

Salon.com's Walsh, on Clinton allegedly not allowing her supporters to switch to Obama yet: "I'm not seeing that. Barbara Boxer came out. Lots of people came out. Lots of people have made their move. I think people are doing the right thing. There may be a couple people because of a personal relationship feel either intimidated or sad to do it. I haven`t seen any evidence of that. ... I don't see her holding him hostage" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 6/4).

FIST PUMP!

And Obama appeared on all three evening newscasts to talk about being declared the presumptive Dem nominee. Some highlights:

Obama, asked if being the presumptive nominee has sunk in: "No. You know ... you have been working so hard, 54 contests, so many months, meeting so many people, and then to suddenly walk into an auditorium with 17,000 people and realize you're the Democratic nominee. That's a pretty big dose to swallow all at once, but I will say that talking to my grandmother last night probably drove it home."

ABC's Gibson: "Should you choose [Clinton as VP], how do you handle Bill Clinton?"

Obama: "All those questions are premature" ("World News," ABC, 6/4).

CBS' Couric: "In the spirit of Kennedy picking Johnson and Reagan choosing Bush, why not pick Senator Clinton? And please don't tell me it's preamture to ask that question."

Obama: "Well, it's not premature to ask. It's premature to answer."

Obama, asked if he is chemically combatable with Clinton: "Look, Senator Clinton is somebody who I've worked with in the past. We agree on 95%, maybe 99% of issues. ... Chemistry is a combination of things. A lot of it just has to do with how much work you put into it. ... I like Senator Clinton" ("Evening News," CBS, 6/4).

NBC's Williams, on the 6/3 event in St. Paul: "Your wife came up on stage with you last night and in an otherwise private moment, attempted to give her husband a fist pound. ... The way a lot of Americans do, the way a lot of couples do. Only problem was it was an inside move shared in front of 17 1/2 thousand people in the arena and millions watching at home. It's the most talked about fist pound on the internet today, you'll be happy to know."

Obama: "It is a great picture. ... It captures what I love about my wife, which is that there is a reverence about her and a sense that for all the hoopla that I'm her husband and sometimes we'll do silly things. And yet, you know, she's proud of me and she gives me some credit once in a while. But I actually pull some things off" ("Nightly News," NBC, 6/4).