The Clinton-Kerry alliance

For Mr. Kerry, meanwhile, being a player again has its own rehabilitative power. There is nothing like standing next to a Clinton to bring you into a spotlight. As the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, Mr. Kerry came to relish that spotlight after years spent in the sometimes overwhelming shadow of his state’s senior senator, Edward M. Kennedy.

Indeed, Mr. Kerry’s desire to remain a powerbroker in the party is intense, friends of his say, and he has been cultivating relationships in the 2008 field beyond Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Kerry and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois worked together on a veterans bill this year, and had a private dinner in Washington this spring. And he put out a statement praising the energy plan of Senator Christopher Dodd, another ’08 contender.

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Kerry are not close personally, but advisers to each say the senators regard each other as serious, thoughtful, and mature – qualities they do not see in all of their colleagues, the advisers add. They share a biting sarcasm, too, and they are both regarded as well-prepared and detail-oriented. (Mrs. Clinton has made it clear to aides that she does not want to skip as many Senate votes as Mr. Kerry did while campaigning in 2003 and 2004, however.)

They also have a shared history with presidential politics, too, beyond the fact that Mr. Kerry, as the Democratic nominee in 2004, can understand what Mrs. Clinton is dealing with as a leading candidate this time around.

Kevork Djansezian / AP Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who enjoyed the benefits of standing alongside former President Bill Clinton during Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, appears to have cleared up any differences with the president's wife and her 2008 campaign.

When Mr. Kerry was considering possible running mates in 2004, he “was ready to partner with Clinton if it was the way to win, but he doubted it was,” Mr. Kerry’s senior adviser at the time, Robert Shrum, writes in his book, “No Excuses.” But a “quiet round of polling” revealed that Mrs. Clinton “had high negatives – she would hurt the ticket,” Mr. Shrum added.

Then, in October 2006, when Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Kerry were both considering presidential bids in 2008, she inflicted damage on him by labeling as “inappropriate” the joke that Mr. Kerry had told at the height of the campaign season. Mr. Kerry, deviating from his prepared remarks, had suggested that students who did not work hard could “get stuck in Iraq.”

As it happens, Democrats close to Mr. Kerry say that some of his donors decided to support Mr. Obama over Mrs. Clinton because she knocked Mr. Kerry when he was already down.

Mr. Kerry has said he will endorse one of the presidential candidates, and Democrats close to him say that he is carefully watching what they say on Iraq, national security, and the environment. And by all accounts he is enjoying being something of a player again.

“This is virgin territory for Kerry,” said one of these Democrats, a close Kerry confidant. “When it comes to endorsements, now he’s the hunted and not the hunter.”

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