The question is, will Mrs. Clinton fight Ms. Palin to help her former rival, Mr. Obama? Clinton advisers say that Mrs. Clinton wants to do everything she can to elect Mr. Obama, so that she cannot be blamed if he loses — yet she also does not want to be too closely associated with him if he does lose, nor to tarnish her own image by taking on a rookie national politician like Ms. Palin and possibly coming up short.

Mrs. Clinton is heading to Florida on Monday to campaign for Mr. Obama. And while his advisers expect her to serve as a counterweight to the McCain-Palin ticket, Clinton advisers are emphatic that Mrs. Clinton does not plan to attack Ms. Palin. Whether that remains the case through the fall is an open question, especially if Ms. Palin starts doing as well with, say, women who watch “The View” as Mrs. Clinton did.