'No Way, No How, Nobama'

Despite the media gushing about unity and how much of a team player Hillary Clinton pretended to be last night, the backbiting continues. And that was just Day 1 of the Clinton-fest with the Big Ooze, Bill Clinton, scheduled for this evening.

Even as Hillary Rodham Clinton told supporters to go for "O" last night, strategists close to the Clintons yesterday trashed the convention as the "Seinfeld" of nominating fetes - a gathering about nothing.

"If this party has a message, it's done a hell of a job hiding it, I promise you that," James Carville, who was integral in Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, told CNN.

Democratic strategist Paul Begala, another former Clintonite from '92, took umbrage over former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner - the convention's keynote speaker - suggesting he would use his speech not to slam GOP candidate John McCain but call for bipartisanship.

"This isn't the Richmond Chamber of Commerce," Begala quipped.

Warner's speech did harshly criticize McCain as well as President Bush.

But Begala's comments again highlighted the simmering tensions between supporters of Hillary and those of Barack Obama, which has so far been the dominant story line of the convention.

Hillary herself has made public pleas for unity, and has said she'll release her delegates and cast her vote for Obama.

The two camps worked out a deal where both candidates' names would be placed in nomination, but there would be a truncated roll call followed by a call for unity.

More here on the simmering tensions.

A significant number of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s top fund-raisers remain on the sidelines and unwilling to work for Senator Barack Obama, a nettlesome problem that appears to be contributing to the campaign’s failure to keep pace with ambitious fund-raising goals it set for the general election.

The lingering rancor between the sides appears to have intensified at the Democratic convention, with grousing from some Clinton fund-raisers about the way they are being treated by the Obama campaign in terms of hotel rooms, credentials and the like. Tensions were already high, particularly in the wake of revelations that Mr. Obama did not vet Mrs. Clinton or ask her advice on his vice-presidential pick.

Many major Clinton fund-raisers skipped the convention; others are leaving Wednesday, before Mr. Obama’s speech.

One of those skipping town will be Bill Clinton himself.

Maybe he's got a McCain fundraiser to attend.