This just in: according to the Detroit Free Press and sources close to the Clinton campaign, all-but-defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is refusing to suspend her campaign solely in order to gain leverage in pressing for a joint ticket with Barack Obama, wherein she would run as the vice presidential candidate. While such a “Dream Ticket” may be politically advantageous, such a decision is hardly a foregone conclusion.

In evaluating the appeal of a joint ticket with Clinton, the Obama campaign must evaluate the effect such an announcement would have on supporters of both sides, many of whom remain bitterly divisive following a hard-fought campaign that became deeply personal on numerous occasions. An alliance of former rivals could yield both positive and negative effects.

Although the senators spoke by phone on Sunday night, aides to Sen. Obama said that the two had not yet discussed the possibility of a joint ticket.