The Trail

McCain praised Clinton at a news conference Friday, saying: "There's no doubt that she has inspired millions of women around the country, and the world." He is seeking to tap into a strong current of resistance among Clinton supporters who think that she was mistreated during the primary and that the presumptive Democratic nominee is not experienced enough.

On a conference call with the Clinton campaign's New England steering committee earlier in the week, Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe was met with hostility from several prominent Clinton bundlers who said they were not ready to begin raising money for Obama, one person familiar with the call said.

A Clinton adviser said that the campaign has been conducting similar calls all week, trying to recruit for Obama, but that "there a significant number of our donors who are not ready yet to jump in with both feet."

"People are tired, but more importantly they need to see, and guess haven't seen yet, the respect that Hillary deserves and earned," the adviser said.

Ellen Malcolm, the president of Emily's List, said she is still going through the "stages of grief," and sensed similar unease during a conference of her group's major donors in Washington on Friday.

"There are still a lot of upset folks, and I'm one of them," Malcolm said. Nonetheless, she said, she got a "loud cheer" when she urged hundreds of her donors to help elect Obama.

McCain is hoping to tap into the hard feelings. Women for Fair Politics, which organized women voters for Clinton in the Buckeye State, has now shared its volunteer lists with McCain; his campaign e-mailed them on Friday to invite them to join the conference call.

McCain will participate in the 3:30 p.m. call. His campaign confirmed the call but did not say where the town hall meeting would be held.

-- Anne E. Kornblut and Juliet Eilperin