WASHINGTON - FORMER president Bill Clinton said on Thursday he was willing to campaign for White House hopeful Barack Obama, who defeated his wife Hillary in a sometimes bitter Democratic nomination race.

Asked by reporters if he would campaign for Mr Obama, who aims to become America's first black president, Mr Clinton said: 'Whenever he asks.'

'He's busier than I am on politics anyway,' he said.

Mr Clinton and Mr Obama spoke by telephone on June 30 in an effort to mend fences, three days after Mrs Hillary Clinton and the presumptive Democratic nominee appeared publicly for the first time in a show of party unity.

Reports last month said that despite his wife's vow to do whatever she could to make Mr Obama the next president, Mr Bill Clinton was still nursing anger over the campaign, in which he was accused of playing the race card to boost Hillary's chances.

The former president remains a hero to many grass-roots Democrats, and could possibly help Mr Obama in his quest to win over working class whites in key swing states that backed Mrs Hillary Clinton in the primary race.

Senior Democrats have long feared that lingering rancour between Obama and Clinton supporters could provide an advantage to Republican White House hopeful Senator John McCain.

Mr Bill Clinton was in New York on Thursday to promote an initiative from his foundation to reduce the prices of malaria medication. -- AFP