White House aides acknowledge that there will have to be a high tolerance for her creating distance with the administration. They want the Democratic nominee to win, no matter who it is, and if that means spelling out differences with the president, then so be it. But they don’t expect that to happen for a while because, at this point, Clinton will need to show that she was part of a successful presidency and undermining him wouldn’t help.

Still, for Obama’s aides and outside advisers, while the book itself was largely unobjectionable, the intensity surrounding the tour to promote it — replete with the campaign-style town hall and a sophisticated rollout — has been a neon sign reminding them that Clinton is increasingly seen by Democrats as their future.

For Clinton, she must decide how tightly to embrace a president with eroding approval ratings. Her book tour has offered hints of the balance she’s attempting to strike. Clinton has defended Obama’s controversial deportation policy, but also made clear that she warned the White House about the risk of not arming Syrian rebels. She has said she was never disappointed with the president while working for him but she did disagree with him at times.