President Clinton Says He's at Obama's Bidding

President Clinton, speaking for the first time about his support for his wife's former political opponent, said he is ready to campaign for Senator Obama "whenever he asks."

The two had a private meeting June 30, but Mr. Clinton had yet to speak publicly about it.

"We had a good talk, and he said he wanted me to campaign with him, and I said I was eager to do so," the former president said of the meeting, speaking yesterday to reporters at the Clinton Foundation headquarters in Harlem. "So I just told him that, whenever he wanted me to do it, I was ready."

He added: "I'll do whatever I'm asked to do, whenever I can do it."

Democratic strategists and a former fund-raiser for Senator Clinton's campaign have recently characterized Mr. Clinton's support as more of a liability than a boon for Mr. Obama. Mr. Clinton's office had earlier issued a statement supporting Mr. Obama.

Mr. Clinton also defended the Reverend Jesse Jackson, whose recent comments about Mr. Obama before an interview on Fox News caused a firestorm. Rev. Jackson said he thought his microphone had been turned off.

"He's a good man," Mr. Clinton said of Rev. Jackson. "You know, if all of us lived on live mics, then 100% of us in this room would be embarrassed from time to time."

The comments came after an announcement by Mr. Clinton about a new initiative to wipe out malaria through a partnership with six large drug companies.

The plan brings together firms that would normally be competitors to reduce the price of key anti-malaria drugs by more than 30%. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 million people die from malaria every year, 90% of them in sub-Saharan Africa.