Happy days are here again? REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Early this morning, the Clinton and Sanders campaigns sent out identically worded statements announcing that the Vermont senator would "join Hillary Clinton for a campaign event at Portsmouth High School to discuss their commitment to building an America that is stronger together and an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top." Notably, it was not a "shared commitment." Yet.

They do not love each other. It's not entirely clear exactly how much they like each other. But the political marriage of convenience appears to be on, with an endorsement Tuesday morning that "will be the culmination of a month of aggressive courting by her, including a high-profile meeting in Washington and a dinner between their campaign managers in Vermont," reported John Wagner and Abby Philip.

"But much remains unknown about how — and whether — the political marriage being unveiled Tuesday will actually work. While they have a common enemy in Republican Donald Trump, Clinton and Sanders don’t have much of a personal or professional relationship. And many of their supporters remain deeply suspicious of the other candidate.

"Sanders diehards remain skeptical that Clinton, the favorite of the Democratic establishment, will embrace the agenda of a candidate who promised a political revolution." [Some say they still aren't sure the Vermont senator will back Hillary Clinton.] "And Clinton boosters are wary of a longtime independent who questioned Clinton’s judgment and was slow to accept defeat.

"...It also remains unclear how often — and under what circumstances — Clinton plans to deploy Sanders as a surrogate between now and November. As of Monday, no other appearances on her behalf had been nailed down, aides said.

"Still, Tuesday’s appearance will be a politically happy one for both Clinton and Sanders.

"Sanders supporters say the past month has been about ensuring that he can make a credible case that his 'revolution' will continue, though perhaps not at the same pace if he were the nominee. He can now promise, they say, that Clinton will carry the torch on key issues he championed during his surprisingly strong bid, including making college tuition free for many families and moving the country closer to universal health care. ...

"Clinton, meanwhile, can head into the Democratic convention in Philadelphia able to project an image of party unity, as she stands arm in arm with her sometimes pesky rival in the primaries."

THE WAY WE WERE: As the final hours of the Democratic fight ticked away, one last reminder of the battle that was: due to a technical glitch, this afternoon a Clinton campaign YouTube channel temporarily posted a Sanders attack ad. It was quickly taken down — though not before we grabbed it, thanks to eagle-eyed Dave Weigel — but for a few minutes, it was March again. (Remember March? We were all so much younger then.)

If you feel like reliving primary season memories, here's the spot, which links the Vermont senator to Ted Cruz, because: March.

Hillary for America: The Export-Import Bank | Campaign 2016

IT BEGINS:

Cleveland. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Members of the Republican National Committee met in Cleveland Monday to begin drafting the party's platform ahead of next week's convention, reported Ed O'Keefe, Dan Balz and Dave Weigel.

"The gathering marked the first time competing factions of the party that warred during the most bitter GOP presidential race of the modern era began coming face-to-face, just days before the launch of the Republican National Convention. In most years, the activities transpiring this week in a downtown convention center would amount to little-watched toiling among party elders and the most ardent foot soldiers of the national conservative movement. But this year’s pre-convention meetings, which continue through Friday, will be watched closely for signs of fissures.

"On details of the party platform, Trump has signaled to party leaders that he will take a hands-off posture toward a process that could result in a document that differs in significant ways with the ideas, policies and sentiments he has discussed during his presidential campaign."

So what ideas will the document reflect? Here are some highlights from the first day of debate:

—They talked about food, during a debate over whether those on government assistance should be able to use it to purchase unhealthy products:

(The food was theoretical.)

—They discussed social issues, and family structure.

—They talked about critiques of the War on Drugs.

—They covered a lot of ground. 

A lot.

The platform committee will conclude its work Tuesday.

TRAIL MIX:

Virginia Beach, Va. (Kristen Zeis/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Donald Trump called The Fix's Chris Cillizza today with a veepstakes update: He said "that he expects to decide on his vice presidential pick by the end of the week and that he is leaning toward a 'political' pick rather than a 'military' one.

'I have five people, including the general,' Trump told me in a 25-minute phone conversation on Monday morning, referring to retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn. 'I do like the military, but I do very much like the political.' 

"Trump added, 'I will make my mind up over the next three to four days. In my mind, I have someone that would be really good.'

"Although Trump was careful not to eliminate Flynn, it was clear that he believed picking someone 'political' was the right move, meaning, presumably, that former speaker Newt Gingrich, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and one other political person are in his final four.

"Trump said he was prizing political experience over military experience for two main reasons.

"First, he feels as though he doesn't need much help on the military/national security front.

"'I have such great respect for the general, but believe it or not that will be one of my strong suits,' he said. 'I was against the war in Iraq from the start.' (The Washington Post's Fact Checker column disagreed with that assessment.)

"Second, Trump sees picking a politician as vice president as the best way to unify the GOP ahead of next week's Republican National Convention and the coming fall campaign. 'I don’t need two anti-establishment people,' Trump said. 'Someone respected by the establishment and liked by the establishment would be good for unification. I do like unification of the Republican Party.'..."

Trump will hit the trail with Pence later this week. Today, it was Christie's turn, as Trump in Virginia billed himself the "law and order" candidate. Christie met privately over the weekend with Trump's veep-vetting lawyer.

Last week, Trump campaigned with Gingrich, who told NBC he hadn't made his mind up yet either. (The former House speaker knows how cruel the trail can be: his 2012 campaign remains $4.6 million in debt.)

"There is a huge amount of interest in figuring out whom Trump will pick in part because of the huge amount of interest in Trump," noted Philip Bump. "More than most recent presidential candidates, there's a palpable sense that Trump could legitimately pick anyone to be his vice president. Combined with the campaign's lackadaisical efforts to keep surrogates on the same page and the decision being held solely by the quixotic candidate, it's not surprising that we've seen plenty of rumors and speculation.

"Please note: We will not be updating this article as new rumors arise. We do have other work to do."

—As the GOP starts to gather in Cleveland, the AP found the party has some ground game holes: "Ohio Republicans thought they were going to see 220 paid staffers by May; in reality there are about 50. Plans for Pennsylvania called for 190 paid staffers; there are about 60. Iowa's planned ground force of 66 by May actually numbers between 25 and 30. In Colorado, recent staff departures have left about two dozen employees, far short of the 80 that were to have been in place.... " And in Florida, the Tampa Bay Times reported that visitors to Trump's state headquarters in Sarasota were greeted by a sign informing them that the campaign offices were temporarily closed to the public so the team could focus on getting ready for the convention.

—Trump antagonist-turned-surrogate Rick Perry told Snapchat's Peter Hamby on "Good Luck America" that the presumptive nominee's proposal for a wall between the United States and Mexico would be a "digital" or "technological" barrier, not a physical one: "There are some that hear this is going to be 1,200 miles from Brownsville to El Paso, 30 foot high, and listen, I know you can’t do that."

—Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's weekend comments bashing Trump may have crossed an important line, reported Aaron Blake and Robert Barnes: Her remarks could cast doubt on her impartiality if a case involving the 2016 election or a future Trump administration came before the court. (Among the comments, in interviews with the Associated Press and the New York Times: the recollection "of a joke her late husband Marty used to make about unfortunate political outcomes: 'Now it’s time for us to move to New Zealand.'")

—Republican Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Bob Goodlatte "formally requested that the U.S. Attorney for the District investigate whether Hillary Clinton committed perjury when she testified before a congressional committee about her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state," saying evidence collected by the FBI during a probe of Hillary Clinton's email set up "appears to directly contradict" sworn testimony she gave in 2015, reported Matt Zapotosky.

YOUR DAILY TRAIL PIT STOP: We have only the vaguest, very dated, recollection of Pokémon. (The Post's Caitlin Dewey has written a very servicey feature for us, and those like us: "What the heck is Pokémon Go? An explainer for the out-of-touch and/or old." We know we should read it, for journalism reasons. As yet, we have not.)

We do not have to tell you that everyone is talking about this thing, because you are a human on the internet, so you have encountered the phenomenon in its natural habitat. Which, today, was almost everywhere.

Well — almost.

That may have been the only place it could not be found today.

(Will it end soon? We have no idea. If you are old enough to remember this from the first time, you don't have to participate this time around. Just sit tight.)