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Washington (CNN) – Two sources tell CNN that the idea for having former President Bill Clinton talk with Democratic senators about health care came from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. A senior administration official says Reid asked Clinton to do it, and the White House had a role in helping to arrange it.

On Capitol Hill, a senior Democratic leadership aide confirms to CNN that Reid invited the former president after discussing the idea with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who worked in the Clinton White House. The leadership aide says Clinton is expected to discuss "what's at stake - the historic moment" and to call on Democrats to "finish the job."

Washington (CNN) - Two senior Democratic sources that former president Bill Clinton will attend the Senate Democrats' weekly luncheon Tuesday to address the caucus on health care.

"All Senators should be aware that former President Clinton will be making a presentation on Health Care at tomorrow's caucus lunch," said a notice sent to all Senate Democrats. "Senator Reid has requested that all Democratic Senators attend."

Democratic leaders have consistently cited what they call a lesson of the Clinton administration: fail to pass health care, and congressional Democrats will suffer on Election Day.

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Washington (CNN) - A representative for former President Bill Clinton is confirming a report that a scheduled event featuring Clinton and former President George W. Bush has been cancelled by the two ex-presidents.

Radio City Music Hall had announced that the two former presidents were set to share the legendary venue's stage on February 25.

But the New York Post reported on Wednesday afternoon that Bush and Clinton have cancelled the event because the promoter had "overhyped" the joint appearance.

In an e-mail to CNN, Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna confirmed the New York Post's report.

Earlier, McKenna had stressed that the New York event would not be a heated debate.

"Just a moderated conversation...no fireworks," he said.

Earlier: Bush, Clinton to appear at Radio City Music Hall

–CNN's Alexander Mooney and Kay Jones contributed to this report.

Washington (CNN) - A representative for former President Bill Clinton is confirming a report that a scheduled event featuring Clinton and former President George W. Bush has been cancelled by the two ex-presidents.

Radio City Music Hall had announced that the two former presidents were set to share the legendary venue's stage on February 25.

But the New York Post reported on Wednesday afternoon that Bush and Clinton have cancelled the event because the promoter had "overhyped" the joint appearance.

In an e-mail to CNN, Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna confirmed the New York Post's report.

Earlier, McKenna had stressed that the New York event would not be a heated debate.

"Just a moderated conversation...no fireworks," he said.

Earlier: Bush, Clinton to appear at Radio City Music Hall

–CNN's Alexander Mooney and Kay Jones contributed to this report.

(Update 4 pm ET: A Clinton spokesman confirms to CNN the event has now been canceled. Full story)

(CNN) - Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are set to appear at Radio City Music Hall in February - though if history is any guide, the matchup is likely to produce few fireworks.

The famous New York City venue announced Wednesday the two former presidents will share the same stage February 25, nine months after the ex-presidents shared a similar stage in Toronto, Canada.

A ticket to what Radio City is calling "the hottest political ticket in history" will cost anywhere form $60 to $1,250. Though $1,250 may seem on steep side for the 90 minute event, a VIP ticket includes a pre-show reception with the two former presidents along with the evening's yet-to-be-announced moderator. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will also be served and each guest will have a chance to pose with the former commanders-in-chief.

The two were largely chummy during the last joint appearance at the Toronto event in May. At one point, former President Bush joked that his mother, Barbara Bush, told him Clinton "was like a son to her" because of all the time he was spending with Bush's father.

"So brother, it's good to see you," Bush said then.

During that event, at which tickets cost an eye-popping $2,500, Clinton also showered praise on the former president on a host of issues.

"What he did on the AIDS drugs and the diversity in the cabinet … he deserves a lot of credit," he said.

The New York event is likely to be a lucrative one for both former presidents - each usually charge well over $100,000 in appearance fees. But Radio City isn't officially disclosing how much the former president's are being compensated.

Matt McKenna, a spokesman for former President Clinton, made clear the New York event will not be a heated debate.

"Just a moderated conversation...no fireworks," he said.

Follow Alex Mooney on Twitter @awmooneycnn

(CNN) – San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he was ending his gubernatorial bid.

"It is with great regret I announce today that I am withdrawing from the race for governor of California," he said in a statement. "With a young family and responsibilities at city hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to – and should be – done."

Earlier this month, former President Bill Clinton had endorsed Newsom, running against California Attorney General Jerry Brown. Brown and Clinton were themselves primary rivals in the 1992 presidential campaign, when Clinton defeated the former governor in California's presidential primary.

Clinton weighed in on another Democratic primary race earlier this year, when he backed former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe's unsuccessful bid for the party's gubernatorial nomination in Virginia.

(CNN) - Some Democrats had dubbed the possibility of a Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton pairing last year as a "dream ticket," though the notion that the two once-bitter primary rivals would team up always seemed far-fetched.

But then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was more seriously considering picking Clinton as his running mate than any of his senior aides realized, according to a forthcoming book by former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

Yet in the end, it may have been her husband Bill Clinton - who had made headlines for his outbursts on the campaign trail during the primary season - that ultimately scuttled the possibility.

In the new book, excerpts of which are running in the new issue of Time Magazine, Plouffe said Obama took both him and senior aide David Axelrod by surprise when he insisted on including Clinton on the initial list of potential picks for the No. 2 spot on the ticket.

"Obama was clearly thinking more seriously about picking Hillary Clinton than Axelrod and I had realized," Plouffe writes. "He said if his central criterion measured who could be the best VP, she had to be included in that list."

While Obama continued to consider picking Clinton throughout the summer of 2008, he ultimately eliminated her name from the list in early August, fearing, Plouffe writes, that there "were just too many complications outweighing the potential strengths."

"I think Bill may be too big a complication," Plouffe quotes Obama as saying. "If I picked her, my concern is that there would be more than two of us in the relationship."

The new book, titled The Audacity to Win, hits book stores November 3.

(CNN) - With two weeks left until Election Day, and Jon Corzine fighting for his political life, the New Jersey governor gets a helping hand from another big-name surrogate Tuesday night.

Former President Bill Clinton teams up with Corzine at a campaign event at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It's the second of three straight days of Democratic heavyweights on the trail with the New Jersey governor: on Monday, Vice President Joe Biden teamed up with Corzine in New Jersey for the second time this month. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama headlines a Corzine rally in the Garden State.

A new Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll suggests that Obama remains popular in the Garden State. The survey, released Tuesday, also indicates that Corzine is dead even with his Republican challenger, Chris Christie, the former federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Corzine, battling for his second term, trailed Christie over the summer - but just about every recent poll of likely New Jersey voters indicates that he's now pulled into a tie with Christie. The surveys also suggest that independent candidate Chris Daggett is making an impact, with support in the low double digits - more than enough to swing the race.

Christie gets some big-name help of his own next week. A source with the Christie campaign tells CNN that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will stand alongside the Republican challenger next week. Giuliani, along with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, have teamed up with Christie over the past few months.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton played political analyst Tuesday during a campaign appearance in Virginia for Democrat Creigh Deeds, who is trailing Republican Bob McDonnell according to recent polling.

"So are the polls right?" Clinton said during a rally in northern Virginia. "The answer is yes, no and maybe. Yes, the polls are an accurate measurement of the voter groups that they talk to in proportion to each other. So if on election day that profile shows up, you have to change minds."

"The 'no' answer is, that's not close to a profile of the people either who voted in the primary, which was an open primary, or in the general election of 2008."

"And the 'maybe' is the thing that matters," he said. "The maybe is you. The maybe is what you do in the two weeks, whether you're prepared to step into the breach."

Clinton urged the crowd to tell fellow Democrats that jobs, health care, energy, education and "sensible budgets" are all at stake on Election Day.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – As one of only two statewide campaigns in the 2009 election cycle, the Virginia governor's race has seen a parade of national political stars make the trip to the Old Dominion.

Late Friday, Creigh Deeds' campaign announced that President Obama would join the Democratic candidate on the trail at the end of the month. Obama's 2008 presidential rival will get there first: On Saturday, Sen. John McCain will make his second trip to Virginia on behalf of Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. McCain, a decorated Navy hero, will help McDonnell make a closing pitch to veterans at a rally in Hampton Roads, a region of the state with a heavy military population.

McCain isn't the only high-profile Republican who has stumped for the former Virginia Attorney General: Two other former presidential candidates - former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - have twice visited the state twice to campaign. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani also raised money for McDonnell.

Along with Romney and Huckabee, McDonnell has welcomed a number of top Republicans who may run for president in 2012. That list includes Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele campaigned with McDonnell in May.

Creigh Deeds, who spent the first half of the year in a three-way fight for the Democratic nomination, hasn't had an army of national figures campaign with him. But several prominent Democrats have chipped in to help.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Obama still hasn't committed to campaign with Creigh Deeds before Election Day, but the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful is getting an assist from a former President: Bill Clinton.

Clinton will appear at a rally with Deeds somewhere in northern Virginia next Tuesday, a Deeds aide said. The exact location has not yet been finalized.

Longtime Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe, who sought the Democratic nomination before losing to Deeds in June, will also be in attendance. McAuliffe has sent out a fundraising e-mail on Deeds' behalf, but he has also urged Deeds to run a more positive campaign if he hopes to catch up to Republican Bob McDonnell before Election Day, Nov. 3.

Former Vice President Al Gore is raising money for Deeds on Friday evening.

(CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton will visit Los Angeles next week in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom.

Newsom and Clinton are scheduled to hold an event at L.A. City College on Monday, October 5. Later that day, WJC will attend a fundraiser for Newsom's primary gubernatorial bid.

Newsom aggressively campaigned for now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her unsuccessful campaign to capture the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2008.

Newsom and Clinton plan to tour a new LEED-certified Science and Technology Building at the LACC and speak to faculty and students about green technology jobs and education.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton will headline a major fundraiser for the New Hampshire Democratic Party in December, giving a little back to a state that has favored his family when it comes to politics.

Ray Buckley, chair of the state Democratic Party, announced Monday that Clinton would appear at the Dec. 2 Jefferson Jackson Dinner, a $100 per person fundraiser.

For Clinton, New Hampshire has played a key role in his family's political career. His second place showing in the New Hampshire Primary, at a time when he was battling allegations of infidelity, helped put Clinton on course to win the 1992 Democratic nomination and eventually the presidency. And it was a New Hampshire Primary victory in 2008 that breathed new life into then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination following a poor, third place showing in the Iowa caucuses.

While no longer an elected official, the former president continues to make news. In an interview this week on NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton said that he believes a "vast right wing conspiracy" still exists. "It's not as strong as it was, because America's changed demographically, but it's as virulrent as it was" during his time in the White House, Clinton said.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The "vast right-wing conspiracy" that attacked him during his presidency has been weakened, but continues to operate against President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton said Sunday.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton was asked about the term his wife Hillary Clinton, now Secretary of State, famously coined. "Is it still there?" asked host David Gregory.

"Oh, you bet. Sure it is. It's not as strong as it was, because America's changed demographically, but it's as virulent as it was," said the former president.

"I mean, they're saying things about him [Obama] - you know, it's like when they accused me of murder and all that stuff they did," Clinton said, in an apparent reference to conspiracy theories surrounding the suicide of White House deputy counsel Vince Foster.

He added, "It's not really good for the Republicans and the country, what's going on now. I mean, they may be hurting President Obama. They can take his numbers down, they can run his opposition up. But fundamentally, he and his team have a positive agenda for America."

The nation needs "a credible debate about what's the right balance between continuing to expand the economy through stimulus and beginning to move back to fiscal balance," Clinton said. "We need a credible debate about what's the best way to get to universal [health care] coverage."
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NEW YORK (CNN) – One of America's pre-eminent political power couples made a rare joint appearance Friday, when Bill and Hillary Clinton took the stage at the former president's Clinton Global Initiative conference.

"I want to begin by expressing my extreme indebtedness to the Clinton Global Initiative, to all of you who participated, for giving me the first chance I have had in a week to see Hillary," Bill Clinton told the audience of social activists and business leaders at the closing session of CGI, a week-long conference designed to find solutions to global problems through public and private partnerships.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was at the session to unveil a new State Department initiative on food security.

As he introduced her, the former president was effusive in his praise for his wife, saying that her approach to food security - helping farmers around the world grow their own food to earn income and alleviate poverty - was much smarter than the decades-long policy of simply giving humanitarian aid and food to countries.

"It was a wrong-headed policy. It persisted through Democratic and Republican policies alike, including mine. We were all wrong and she is determined to reverse it," Bill Clinton said, adding that while he was busy engaging in politics, Hillary had "become her own NGO."

"Most of what I know about what I do today, I learned from her and she has become the best public servant our family has produced," he added. "I am very proud of her and honored that she came here."

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(CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton is speaking out about his decision to change his personal stance on same-sex marriage.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, the former president said that while he still believes the issue should be left up to the states, he is no longer personally opposed to same-sex marriage as he once was.

"I was against the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage nation-wide, and I still think that the American people should be able to play this out in debates," Clinton said. "But me, Bill Clinton personally, I changed my position.

"I am no longer opposed to that," he added. "I think if people want to make commitments that last a lifetime, they ought to be able to do it."

The full interview will air on Anderson Cooper 360 at 10 p.m. ET.

(CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton told CNN Monday that he thinks some of the criticism directed at President Obama is racially motivated, but added that not all of Obama’s detractors are racist and urged his fellow Democrats to remain focused on trying to enact health care reform.

“I believe that some of the right-wing extremists which oppose President Obama are also racially prejudiced and would prefer not to have an African-American president,” Clinton told CNN’s Larry King in an interview to air Monday evening. “But I don’t believe that all the people who oppose him on health care – and all the conservatives – are racists. And I believe if he were white, every single person who opposes him now, would be opposing him then. Therefore, while I have devoted my life to getting rid of racism, I think this is a fight that my president and our party – this is one we need to win on the merits.”

Clinton later added, “I really think that we should disaggregate lingering problems of discrimination from the attacks to which the president is subject.”

Clinton was reacting to Rep. Joe Wilson’s, R-South Carolina, outburst when he shouted “You lie” at Obama during the president’s joint address to Congress and former President Jimmy Carter’s assessment that racism is an issue for Obama in trying to lead the country.

Watch Clinton’s entire interview on CNN’s Larry King Live Monday night beginning at 9 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton got more from his visit to North Korea than the release of two American journalists. Clinton, whose wife is Secretary of State, was able to bring valuable information back to the White House about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, President Obama tells CNN.

"I think President Clinton's assessment was that [Kim's] - he's pretty healthy and in control," President Obama said in an interview that airs Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, "And that's important to know, because we don't have a lot of interaction with the North Koreans. And, you know, President Clinton had a chance to see him close up and have conversations with him.

"I won't go into any more details than that. But there's no doubt that this is somebody who, you know, I think for a while people thought was slipping away. He's reasserted himself. It does appear that he's concerned about - he was more concerned about succession when he was - succession when he was sick, maybe less so now that he's well."

Obama also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King that his administration's approach to the largely-isolated Asian nation "is a success story so far."
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(CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton will endorse San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom in the 2010 California governor's race, a Clinton aide confirmed to CNN.

Clinton's decision to weigh in for Newsom puts him at odds once again with the candidate many consider the likely frontrunner for the Democratic nomination - California Attorney General and former governor Jerry Brown, the man Clinton defeated for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination.

But Newsom curried favor with the former president in 2008, when he endorsed and campaigned actively for Hillary Clinton during her quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. The 42nd president is now returning the favor by throwing his weight around in a Democratic primary, as he has done with other 2010 candidates who backed Hillary's bid last year.

Clinton has endorsed Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek and Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher in their 2010 Senate bids, even though both candidates have yet to secure their party's nomination. He also backed his longtime ally Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race, but McAuliffe lost a three-way fight for the Democratic nomination in June.

The endorsement was first reported by ABC News.