A campaign spokesman for Sen. Barack Obama today told a reporter that ex-President Bill Clinton would play a "big role" in the upcoming general election campaign.

This could be the usual unity hoo-haa leading up to Friday's joint Obama-Hillary Clinton appearance in, of all places, Unity, N.H. This, after their joint appearance in Washington on Thursday before many of her top fundraisers.

Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not reveal to Bloomberg reporter Kristin Jensen how the campaign might use the former president.

"A unified Democratic Party is going to be a powerful force for change this year, and we're confident President Clinton will play a big role in that," Psaki said.

Not that there would be any political conniving among fellow Democrats because the Republicans are so collectively evil and any personal party ambitions must take second place to that or be seen to anyway.

But can you imagine all the conceivable subversive subplots inherent in the husband of the defeated Democratic candidate campaigning for the man who beat her? And if Obama just happens to lose, the door to 2012 is wide open for, oh, look, the Clinton wife again.

Of course, both Clintons want to appear to work hard for ...