In the closing days of the Iowa caucus, it turns out that several of the Democratic candidates are bidding to lay claim to the mantle of President Clinton. Our Luiza Savage has the particulars on Page One. Governor Dean may have locked up the party’s far left, which now includes Vice President Gore, with his angry isolationism. But General Clark, Rep. Richard Gephardt, and Senator Lieberman have all laid claim to the centrism of Mr. Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council. It may be a slim reed, but this may be the best hope of a party that has been adrift since September 11, 2001.

Of the three, it is Mr. Lieberman who has identified himself with the most admirable parts of the Clinton legacy. Ms. Savage quotes Mr. Lieberman as saying of Mr. Clinton: “He rejected the idea that there was a government solution to every problem. And he rejected the brain-dead policies of the left and right. He constantly searched for new ideas and common ground to move us forward.” The effort to distance himself from the angry leftism of Dr. Dean couldn’t be more clear.

Mr. Gephardt, Ms. Savage reports, was boasting of his link to Mr. Clinton via a new television advertisement. It opens with a flashback to 1993 when “Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt passes the Clinton Economic Plan leading to millions of new jobs.” The ad then states that General Clark, Dr. Dean, and Senators Kerry and Lieberman supported Nafta while Mr. Gephardt opposed it. This lead Messrs. Lieberman and Clark to attack the new Gephardt ad as a betrayal of the Clinton legacy.

General Clark, meantime, is casting himself as something of a proxy for the Clinton forces. He has the raw intelligence of the former president, served under his command, and is from Arkansas and all that. The Clintons have gone out of their way to help him as he sought to jump into the race. More Clinton aides seem to be supporting General Clark than any other candidate in the race. They include, among others, Congressman Rahm Emmanuel, Secretary Rubin, and Laura Tyson, the former economic adviser to Mr. Clinton.

What we take from all this is not a conclusion one way or another about the particulars of Mr. Clinton’s presidency so much as a sign of the struggle within the party. Dr. Dean may win the nomination but it’s too soon to declare victory for the angry wing of the party. Mr. Clinton was, after all, the last Democrat to actually win the presidency and he won two terms despite his manifest personal weaknesses. It may be that what we’re seeing in the closing days of Iowa is a sign that Clintonism will reassert itself between now and November. If it doesn’t, it will be there for Senator Clinton to pick up as she prepares to run in 2008.