When stories like this one actually have to be written and pushed out, it is clear that there is something wrong with efforts to bring a fractured Democratic Party together:

Hillary Rodham Clinton says she truly wants Barack Obama to win the White House, even though he dashed her own presidential dreams. And she’s going to keep saying it, despite the doubters.

The New York senator was campaigning here in Nevada Friday for her former rival, her first appearance for Obama since the two appeared together in Unity, N.H., in June.

In another sign of growing detente between the House of Clinton and the House of Obama, Democrats said Bill Clinton would speak on the third night of this month’s national convention in Denver.

The Clintons’ efforts on Obama’s behalf may ease worries within the party that bad feelings from the long primary battle might erupt at the convention.

“It’s as old as, you know, Greek drama,” Sen. Clinton told supporters in a speech to a private gathering, which was later posted on the Web.

What particular “Greek drama” is being replayed here is anyone’s guess. But drawing from Greek mythology, those whom the gods destroy, they first make proud. The Clintons were certainly proud before they were destroyed. The Obama campaign is certainly proud now and . . . well, we shall see.

Speaking of drama . . .

Giving both Clintons big speeches at the convention may help generate excitement, but it also gives them a lot of attention at a gathering that’s supposed to be about the nominee, Obama.

And Bill Clinton in particular has at times seemed grudging in his praise of the man who stopped his wife’s able ascent.

Asked earlier this week if Obama was ready to be president, Clinton gave a philosophical, not political answer.

“You could argue that no one’s ever ready to be president. I mean, I certainly learned a lot about the job in the first year. You could argue that even if you’ve been vice president for eight years that no one can ever be fully ready for the pressures of the office and that everyone learns something, and something different. You could argue that,” Clinton said.

You just can’t highlight that quote enough. It is breathtaking in its damnation by faint praise.

I suppose that we ought to wait and see whether there will actually be a roll call vote that includes Hillary Clinton’s name in nomination. She has said that such an endeavor may be necessary merely to ensure that there is a healthy “catharsis” for Clinton voters. But as Barack Obama has said, he doesn’t want catharsis. He just wants a unified party.

But either because of media buildup or because of objective facts on the ground, he hasn’t quite gotten that unified party just yet.