Barack Obama, who this week broke his word and became the first candidate to opt out of public financing since it began more than 30 years ago, may have put to bed rumors that he’s holding out for Hillary Clinton to take the bottom slot on his presidential ticket. Obama’s campaign hired Patti Solis Doyle as chief of staff to his yet-to-be-named vice-presidential running mate. Doyle, you may recall, was Clinton’s campaign manager until she was fired in February. She has not spoken with Clinton since, and many of Hillary’s acolytes still blame Doyle for losing the nomination, though that might be just a bit of a stretch. Many political pundits around Washington are calling the move Obama’s middle-finger salute to the Clinton camp. It does seem more spiteful than smooth. After all, it’s a bit presumptuous to hire a chief of staff for a position that has not yet been filled. Might not Obama’s future running mate have his or her own team to bring into the fold?

As for Clinton, she’s taking a month off from her Senate duties to recover from her failed campaign, which, ironically, took her away from those same Senate duties for about 18 months. In fact, I had nearly forgotten she is a senator.