Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to help the one-time candidate who endorsed her on Monday, as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000.

According to the Associated Press, Clinton spokesman Mark Daley said he was uncertain how Clinton would go about raising money for Tom Vilsack, but he conceded that at some point she would have to contact supporters.

Tom Vilsack and his wife, Christie, officially endorsed Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination at an Iowa news conference Monday.

Daley said there was no connection between the fundraising and endorsement.

“There was no quid pro quo,” Daley said. “They have a long history, and if she could be helpful she wants to be helpful.”

The help for Vilsack comes as one of Clinton’s top supporters in the early primary state of New Hampshire disputed reports of another promise in exchange for an endorsement.

Bill Shaheen said that suggestions he withheld his endorsement of Hillary Clinton until he was promised an ambassadorship were wrong.

“Did she promise (an ambassadorship)? No,” Shaheen said. “That’s not how I work. I don’t think [Hillary Clinton] is thinking that far down the road, and I would be disappointed if she was.”

Shaheen joined the Clinton campaign last week as co-chairman of her national and state campaigns. After the endorsement, Shaheen met with bloggers and told them if Clinton wins the White House, he wants to be part of her team negotiating peace in the Middle East.

Last month, a key black Democratic leader in South Carolina negotiated a $10,000 per month consulting contract with Hillary Clinton’s campaign, a pact that came to light when state Sen. Darrell Jackson endorsed her.

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Presidential candidate Tom Vilsack offered a plan Tuesday to ween the nation off of fossil fuels and roll back greenhouse gas emissions to a fraction of current levels.

The former Iowa governor, who has tried to get Barack Obama to debate him in an attempt to gain greater exposure, said he would force new power plants to emit no carbon dioxide — one of the greenhouse gases blamed for rising earth temperatures — by 2020.

Vilsack said as president he would cap U.S. carbon dioxide emissions and create a credit-trading program to meet the cap.

“Energy security is the single most important issue facing America today,” Vilsack said.

“It affects us every minute of every day. It affects our health, our personal finances, our economy and our quality of life.”

Among his proposals was a 75 percent reduction in greenhouse gases produced by the United States by 2050, principally through a mandatory “cap and trade” program among businesses and other institutions.

President George W. Bush made a similar pledge to cap carbon emissions in his 2000 campaign, but broke it in 2001 after getting elected.

Bush continues to oppose mandatory emission caps, arguing that industry through development of new alternative energy technology can deal with the problem at a lesser cost.

We applaud Vilsack’s devotion to this monumentally important issue, but worry that his campaign will never gain the momentum needed to bring it enough attention. Anyone seen Al Gore lately?

[Cartoon above by Linda Eddy, courtesy of Iowapresidentialwatch.com. Follow the link to view many more of her creations.]

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack challenged a leading Democratic rival to a debate before union activists in Iowa later this month to talk about “central issues confronting America.”

But Barack Obama is not biting.

Vilsack is scheduled to participate in a Feb. 21 debate sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Carson City, Nev. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Obama opted to skip that debate, saying he’s committed to campaigning in Iowa that day.

Vilsack said he was willing to fly out immediately after the Nevada debate to attend a similar forum in Iowa.

“As you know, AFSCME represents workers throughout Iowa and they would be willing to organize a forum for us in any town on February 21,” Vilsack said in a letter to Obama’s campaign.

An Obama spokesman, said the senator would not participate in a February 21 debate with Vilsack or any of the other 2008 presidential candidates.

“Sen. Obama looks forward to participating in a number of debates during this campaign, but first he wants to personally meet with and hear from as many Iowans as possible about how we can change our politics,” Tommy Vietor said.

Obama has gotten heavy attention - most of it overwhelming praise - as he prepared to enter the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination over the past few months. More than 15,000 people showed up for his formal announcement in Springfield., Ill., on Saturday.

Vilsack left office last month and has struggled to get similar attention in his bid for the Democratic nomination. Despite being the first to throw his hat in the ring, he’s had a hard time garnering interest against the likes of Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards.

Tom Vilsack is not on many voters’ radar screen as a possible next president.

Even residents of Iowa, who elected the Democrat as Governor of that state, list him fourth in a June poll rating possible Democratic candidates.

As he finishes the announcement phase of his candidacy for the 2008 race - including a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters - Vilsack knows he’s a long shot. He has said as much.

But he has an answer to the inevitable question of how an obscure Midwest governor can get past the predicted Hillary Rodham Clinton juggernaut and the current frenzy surrounding Illinois’ junior senator Barack Obama.

“You have to work longer, and you have to work smarter, and that’s what we intend to do,” Vilsack told reporters last week, his wife at his side.

There’s nothing flashy about Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native who came to Iowa to meet his then-fiancée’s family and who now considers Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, his second hometown. When asked about Obama-style charisma, he countered with his own version.

“There is a quiet charisma,” he said, a charisma that causes voters to say “he’s authentic and real and has done well.”

Vilsack also notes that among the dozen or so other Democrats who may run for president, only two are candidates from west of the Mississippi River and are governors: himself and Bill Richardson of New Mexico.

In 2004, Democratic nominee John Kerry did not win any Plains or Mountain West states, including Iowa and New Mexico. Most recent presidents have been governors first - positioning themselves as outsiders and as chief executives. In fact, only one U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, has been elected directly out of Congress since the 19th Century.

“[As governor] we did not raise taxes; we actually have cut taxes every year I’ve been governor,” he said. “We not only elected a Democratic governor, which will be the longest period of time we’ve had a Democratic governor in consecutive years in the history of our state, we also as a result of efforts of the last four years elected a [Democratic] House and Senate - the first time that combination has occurred in 42 years… We have turned a red state to blue.”

Vilsack’s signature issue, at least one of them, will be energy security. He plans to focus on conservation, renewable fuels, and using traditional materials in ways that are “cleaner and greener.” He says energy and conservation can unite the country, bringing together right and left.