Flush with cash, Obama campaign threatens hostile takeover of Clinton campaign

By Bea Loughnee
Washington Reporter

CHICAGO -- Overflowing with more cash than it knows what to do with, Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign announced this morning that it was exploring a hostile takeover of rival Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The financially struggling Clinton campaign had to take out a $5 million loan from the candidate herself earlier this year just to keep going. With Obama continuing to lead in cash and convention delegates, the Clinton campaign is ripe for a takeover, industry analysts say.

"The Clinton campaign is extremely vulnerable right now," said John Ibniz, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. "If Obama times this right and offers the right incentives to sweeten the deal, he could walk away with a very valuable asset -- the presidential prospects of one of America's most famous politicians, for a song."

The Obama campaign did not release details of its plan, nor did it make an official offer this morning. Rather, campaign officials mostly waved the campaign's latest FEC filings in front of the cameras and made raspberries while wearing T-shirts that read, "Obama floats my boat, Hillary floats herself loans."

But senior Obama campaign officials said they are serious about potentially making an unsolicited bid for the Clinton campaign. The deal likely would involve some combination of cash, high-ranking placement in an Obama administration, and "finally doing something about Bill, if you know what I mean," campaign insiders said.

"We're definitely exploring that option," one top campaign official said. "I'd tell you more of the details we've worked out so far, but right now I can't find the clipboard; it's lost under one of the piles of cash somewhere around the office."