Barack Obama's selection of Sen. Joseph Biden to be his running mate reached a pivotal point in a secret meeting on the night of Aug. 6. Biden was whisked into a Minneapolis hotel room through a back entrance while Obama was in the area. They talked one on one for 90 minutes. "It was spirited and pragmatic," said one adviser. The rendezvous capped weeks of pitching by Biden advisers.

During the meeting, Biden argued that his longtime experience of working between the legislative and executive branches would "help carry out Obama's agenda of change," one aide said. He also talked about his family's modest roots in Scranton, Pa.

Four days later, Obama left for Hawaii -- just as fighting erupted between Russia and Georgia. When Biden was invited by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to come offer advice, it "was fortuitously well-timed," a Biden adviser said.

OBAMA: CLINTONS ARE SUPPORTIVE

Obama said Monday that Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband "couldn't have been more clear" in their support for his candidacy. In Davenport, Iowa, Obama said it was understandable that after the primary contest some of Clinton's supporters would be slow to come his way. But he said the convention would help produce the unity needed to win in November.

FBI INVESTIGATE ALLEGED PLOT

The FBI is looking into reports in Denver media outlets that a man under investigation for drug and weapons violations may have made threats against Obama, officials said Monday.

"It's premature to say that it was a valid threat," a U.S. government official said.

Aurora Police Detective Marcus Dudley said Tharin Robert Gartrell, 28, was arrested early Sunday in the Denver suburb of Aurora. Two other people were arrested in the case, police said.

The investigation was prompted after CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver reported that one suspect told authorities they were "going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle ... sighted at 750 yards" at his Thursday night acceptance speech. The U.S. Attorney in Denver has scheduled a news conference today.

NEWS SERVICES

GETTING IN GEAR The Obama cargo cult is vast, stretching from online precincts, where action figures, above, and replicas of his Number 23 basketball jersey are available. Even Halle Berry was seen wearing a $46 "Obama for Change" shirt. His campaign, like John McCain's, sells authorized goods. But vendors can sell their own versions as long as they don't mislead buyers about their tie to the campaign, an aide said.