With the Democratic primary season's end in sight, aides and allies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- many of whom have exchanged heated political words throughout the campaign -- are trying to find a way to clear some of the air.

Only two primaries remain on the Democratic nominating calendar. Clinton's big victory in Puerto Rico Sunday does not appear to foretell the outcome of Tuesday's final two contests in South Dakota and Montana.

But her successes in other key states have Obama's campaign speaking about unity and a way to bring the two sides together.

"I think that we're going to see Senator Clinton and Senator Obama embrace. I don't know when that will be. It could be this week, it could be next week. There's going to be a unified Democratic Party," Obama supporter and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Obama and his campaign have already acknowledged that healing the rift is a very real issue as the front-runner tries to attract the more than 17 million voters who backed Clinton in the Democratic race, many of whom feel little love lost between the two candidates.

"You've got two very very strong candidates with a lot of committed supporters competing vigorously for a long time," Obama strategist David Axelrod said. "Of course there are strong feelings. It would be weird if it were any other way."

The pressure to come together has become evident in the evolution of the Obama staff's descriptions of the Clinton camp -- speaking with high praise about the New York senator, former President Bill Clinton and the entire Clinton team.

Opening a conversation between the Democratic candidates' camps could provide a range of options for the next step in the race, including whether Clinton resists the nomination or joins it -- possibly just underneath the top of the ticket or in another cushy position.

"There are a lot of reasons why (Obama) would not" pick Clinton to be his running mate, said Bob Cusack, managing editor of The Hill newspaper. But Cusack said Clinton's argument that she has been able to win important swing states that Obama could not carry is a convincing case.

"I think it's about the number 2 slot ... Cabinet-level would be a bit below what she is now, she's a senator. But the thing is that when she goes back to the Senate, she doesn't have a committee chair, she's not in leadership so it's unclear what he could give her other than the No. 2 slot," he said.

"(Obama) said that she'd be on anybody's short list, and I believe him," Daschle said of including Clinton as a potential running mate.

Little polling has been done in Montana and South Dakota, but Obama appears positioned to win both states in Tuesday's last-in-the-nation primaries. Still, the delegate math suggests that even with twin wins Tuesday, he could fall just short of the number he needs to clinch the nomination.

Obama has 2,070 delegates in the race for 2,118. Clinton has 1,915. Montana and South Dakota offer a combined total of 31 pledged delegates. The campaign remains confident Obama will be the nominee, especially after the remaining superdelegates get off the fence and announce their support. Several have said they are just waiting for the final contests to end.

Some Clinton surrogates have already acknowledged that her run is over and it's simply a matter of when it becomes formal.

"It does appear to be pretty clear that Senator Obama is going to be the nominee," said Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor and a national co-chairman of Clinton's campaign. "After Tuesday's contests, she needs to acknowledge that he's going to be the nominee and quickly get behind him."

If a plan to bow out successfully doesn't gel, the former first lady could decide to prolong the race, challenging the decision to seat Michigan's delegates on a 69-59 Clinton-Obama split even though Obama wasn't on the ballot in the state.

Clinton's top delegate hunter Harold Ickes, a Rules Committee member, said Sunday the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee "hijacked" the vote. But he stopped short of saying she would make good on the threat to push the case forward.

"She'll be consulting with people, and she'll be making a decision later on," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I think it's a position the campaign is taking until the primaries are over. Until then, I don't think it can be seen as anything more than posturing," said Don Fowler, a Clinton supporter and Rules Committee member who voted for the Michigan compromise.

Even if she were to press for a change to the Michigan decision, Clinton would still lack the delegates necessary to secure the nomination -- a point made by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Clinton supporter.

"I don't think we're going to fight this at the convention," Rendell said on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday. "Because even were we to win it, unless it's going to change enough delegates for Senator Clinton to get the nomination, then it would be a fight that would have no purpose."

Cusack added that if Clinton does not signal that she's going to concede on Wednesday, a lot of lawmakers could come out and throw their support to Obama, putting an end to the discussion for her.

"Unless they get the signal, 'Yes, I am going to bow out,' (there will be) a lot of pressure on Capitol Hill for Clinton to bow out," he said.

FOX News' Steve Brown and The Associated Press contributed to this report.