CNN is reporting this morning that the Obama and Clinton campaigns are in formal talks about ending her quest for the Democratic nomination and possibly giving her the VP slot.

These apparent talks are described by CNN as being in a ``very preliminary'' stage and as "difficult."

It's really unclear what this means or what's really going on here. CNN doesn't have anyone on the record. Just anonymous sourcing. We'll have video of their report up shortly.

On first blush I'm skeptical that there really are "formal talks" in the usual sense of that phrase. The report appears to lean heavily on sourcing from within the Clinton camp, which is notable. The significance here may not be that there are formal talks underway or that the vice presidency is under discussion. The real significance may be that this is the opening salvo from the Clinton camp ahead of the negotiations that would likely accompany her withdrawal from the race.

Like everyone else, we're trying to track this down now. But this may be the beginning of the beginning of the end.

Late Update: Here's the video: