Was Senator Hillary Clinton’s performance at the Unity rally with presumptive Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama so strong that she could be seriously in the running for Obama’s Veep? New York Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin, who had been highly-critical of her, thinks so.

And those who hold this belief could point to news that her husband former President Bill Clinton plans to meet with Obama this week as a sign of major fence-mending that could mean both Clintons could soon be totally on board the bandwagon.

Goodwin writes:

My bet a month ago was that he shouldn’t and wouldn’t make the offer. Now I’m not sure. Clinton’s Friday performance adds to my growing belief the dream ticket is an on-again possibility.

Two things have happened that help her chances of extending the streak of having a Bush or a Clinton on one of the national tickets. It’s been the case every four years since Poppy Bush was Ronald Reagan’s running mate in 1980, and 2008 is trending in that direction.

One problem with that idea. There are some Americans who would like a ticket that does not include a Bush or a Clinton because (supposedly) we don’t have dynastic political governance in this country.

The first change is her behavior, where she has emerged from her vacation without the chip on her shoulder. The second thing that has happened is that Obama’s numerous flip-flops have created more doubts about who he is and what he stands for.

Clinton, who reportedly wants the veep spot, certainly didn’t hold back at their first joint appearance. She was so good she almost had me forgetting how she was arguing to superdelegates not long ago that Obama was unelectable.

She may still believe that, but how she acts is what matters. While part of the reason she’s leaning forward is that she doesn’t want to be blamed if Obama loses, she also realizes that enthusiasm for him serves her interests, too. Her future depends on repairing her relations with black Democrats, and there is no faster way to do that than by giving her best for Obama.

When she does that, as she did Friday, it’s obvious he has to consider putting her on the ticket. She gave a better speech than he did and won the gravitas weigh-in. She would help him reach more women and lower-income whites if she were on the ticket than a mere surrogate.

Goodwin then suggests Obama must have a reason to say no to her. He’s going to have to weight a variety of factors, pluses, minuses and the results of vetting, to reach his and his V.P. selection team’s choice. He can then pick someone else and praise their virtues. Obama is under no obligation to choose Clinton (although some of her supporters don’t see it that way) but Goodwin is correct that she has grown enormously as a candidate in the primaries. In fact, Hillary Clinton has grown more in terms of content, speaking skills and political nimbleness than any other candidate who ran in the primaries of either party.

Chances still are that she won’t be the pick. And, whether she is or isn’t, a question is: what about her reportedly-pouting husband, Bill Clinton? CNN reports that the former President will meet with Obama this week and that he insists he isn’t pouting:

Sen. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton are expected to meet in the next few days, according to the chairman of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential bid.

Terry McAuliffe said the former president was angered by media reports suggesting he bore a grudge against Obama after the sometimes bruising primary campaign and did not plan to actively support Obama in the general election.

“He was angry that these ridiculous stories were out here, and these supposed close friends of the president — none of the close friends ever got called,” McAuliffe said, referring to anonymous sources quoted in some stories. “What happens, a lot of time, is people like to pretend they’re close so they can tell the reporters that they’re close, but, you know, they’re just talking.”

McAuliffe said he spoke to Bill Clinton on Sunday morning. The former president recently returned from a trip to Europe.

McAuliffe, however, is Mr. Spin for the Clinton campaign. He insists Bill Clinton hasn’t come out sooner because he didn’t want to take the spotlight off the Unity event. INSERT YOUR LAUGH HERE. There just are too many stories in the media about the former President’s ire and wounded feelings.

Stories that plentiful aren’t created by reporters tricking their editors and sitting at Starbucks sipping Lattes. They come from sources.

The bottom line: it is not in either of the Clintons’ interests now to be dragging their feet and be seen as overtly and covertly hostile to Obama.

But Goodwin is correct: Hillary Clinton is now very much a political figure in her own right and one of the best campaigners of either party. She could bring some things to the ticket — and also create a few polling and other problems as well.

The betting here: Obama won’t select her but she will play a high-profile role in the campaign and will be a major national figure if Obama wins.

FOOTNOTE: Forget all the malarkey about Hillary being too old to run in 2016. It’s one more smug conventional wisdom statement that will fall to the wayside.