Signaling the collapse of support for free trade in the Democratic Party, Senator Clinton’s presidential campaign has signed up as an economic adviser a former House leader who staunchly opposed major trade deals, Richard Gephardt of Missouri.

Mrs. Clinton’s decision to make Mr. Gephardt an official member of her economic team is a blunt repudiation of her husband’s strategy from 1992, when he won the White House in part by distancing himself from unions and protectionist elements in the Democratic base.

“I think there’s a large coming together within the Democratic Party in the last few years on the trade issue,” Mr. Gephardt told reporters yesterday as he announced his endorsement of Mrs. Clinton and his new role with her campaign. “Senator Clinton has been at the center of that coming together. We’ve now defined a position that is for trade, that is for free trade treaties, but also requiring that there be a proper observance and a concern about labor and environmental rights in those treaties. We’re in a time where there’s much more agreement in the party.”

While Mr. Gephardt put Mrs. Clinton at “the center” of the Democrats’ new approach, the prevailing orthodoxy in the party now is nearly identical to what he was advocating in the 1990s when he led opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Clinton championed.

Mr. Gephardt clashed with Mr. Clinton so intensely over trade, crime issues, and tax and welfare reform that for a time it was widely speculated that the Missouri congressman would mount a primary bid against Mr. Clinton in 1996. Such a campaign never materialized.
“It was an up and down relationship,” a longtime top adviser to Mr. Gephardt, Steven Elmendorf, recalled in an interview yesterday. “There were some tough moments over trade.”

Asked about the endorsement, Mr. Elmendorf said, “She worked him pretty hard, I think.” He said the tension between Messrs. Clinton and Gephardt never spilled over to the first lady: “He always had a good relationship with Mrs. Clinton.”

Mr. Gephardt said yesterday that he was endorsing Mrs. Clinton primarily because she is best prepared for the presidency. “I think our country is in as much difficulty as it’s ever been,” the former House leader said. “If we ever needed a president who from Day 1, because of their experience and depth of character, could grapple with all these problems, it is now. Looking at the whole field, I just think Hillary is the one who can do this best.”

One of Mrs. Clinton’s rivals for the Democratic nomination, Senator Obama of Illinois, has scoffed at that assessment and suggested that only a former president, like Mr. Clinton, really knows what it is like to be president.

However, Mr. Gephardt said he thought Mrs. Clinton’s experience was comparable.

“Hillary played a unique role as the spouse to President Clinton,” the former House leader said. “She’s not, obviously, a former president, but she’s about as close as you can be to that.”

Mr. Gephardt was renowned as one of organized labor’s most loyal allies in the Congress, but it is not clear how much of that clout he can transfer to Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Elmendorf said it is unlikely that either of the major labor umbrella groups, the AFL–CIO and Change to Win, will endorse any of the presidential candidates. However, he said Mr. Gephardt’s move “sends a pretty good signal” to individual unions and to union members who are fond of the Missouri Democrat.

A former senator from North Carolina who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, John Edwards, has been pressing hard for labor support, particularly from service unions. Mr. Elmendorf said most unions are being cautious this time because of their experience from 2004, when a handful of unions endorsed a Vermont governor, Howard Dean, only to see his campaign fizzle out.

Mr. Gephardt ran for the White House in 1988 and again in 2004. He dropped out the last time after coming in fourth in the Iowa caucuses.
Still, his endorsement could carry some weight there, where he is well regarded and holds sway with the United Automobile Workers local. In some Iowa polls, Mrs. Clinton has trailed Mr. Edwards.

In a statement, Mrs. Clinton said Mr. Gephardt would be “an invaluable adviser and friend” as she pursues the presidency.

Some unions said they doubted the Missouri Democrat’s announcement would have much impact. “Senator Clinton has a great labor record, but Gephardt’s decision doesn’t signal anything at all about union endorsements,” a spokesman for the International Association of Fire Fighters, Jeffrey Zack, said.

Mr. Gephardt also downplayed the import of his declaration. “I’m a has-been politician,” he said with a chuckle. “I have no illusions about being any big factor in this campaign.”