CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. – It was a small-town strain of quiet at Douglas G. Grafflin Elementary School yesterday. Pony tailed soccer moms milled about the hallway, discussing their children’s private music lessons. One of the two voting booths had a massive pumpkin drooping at its foot like a manatee.

The sense of tranquility gave way when the Clintons pulled up, in the kind of vast vehicle that is typical of this Westchester community.

Stepping into the cafeteria eight weeks after undergoing open-heart surgery, President Clinton looked thin and serious in his reading glasses and dark suit. Chelsea, also in a dark suit, appeared eager to pull the lever and go home.

And then there was Hillary Rodham Clinton, who looked as though she wouldn’t mind it if the crowd multiplied by 10.

“Hel-lo!” New York’s junior senator called out to the room in her perky Midwestern accent. She resembled a sunflower, dressed in a lemon cable sweater and even brighter-yellow fleecy jacket, matching her hair.

“She looks fantastic,” one mom said.

“She had her hair blown-out,” another said, sounding relieved. “She looks so much better when she wears it like that.”

The moment was all Hillary’s.

She stood in the voting booth for a mere 20 seconds before the ka-ching sounded and the curtain reopened. She walked over to the table of volunteers, where everyone got a personal “Hi, how are you?” or “Good morning.”

It’s looking up for the senator, whose career could gain momentum whether President Bush or Senator Kerry takes the oath of office in January.

A Bush victory, it was thought, could herald Mrs. Clinton’s bid for the White House in 2008, while a Kerry victory could mean a plum appointment, possibly – U.S. News and World Report’s Washington Whispers column murmured – a nomination to the Supreme Court.

While pundits reckoned she stood to gain more from a Bush re-election, Mrs. Clinton worked hard for the Kerry campaign.

Throughout the campaign season, Mrs. Clinton, as she campaigned for the Democratic ticket, has had the tricky task of maintaining a balance between gross overexposure and being perceived as not doing enough.

Another complicating factor was the likelihood that, if Mr. Bush won re-election, Senator Edwards would be her chief rival for the 2008 presidential nomination. Earlier this summer, many speculated that the 2008 factor was the reason Mrs. Clinton wasn’t initially invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention, even though she’s one of the more popular leaders of the party.

They straightened that out, and the senator from New York has campaigned for Democratic candidates, stumping for the Kerry-Edwards ticket, appearing at fundraising events in local campaigns, taping those odd electronic telephone “reminders” for state legislators whom she endorsed.

She again demonstrated her amazing capacity to raise money. She raised millions of dollars for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, according to her office. As of mid-July she had also helped organize more than 60 events on behalf of Democratic candidates for the Senate since 2002, which brought in donations totaling $17 million.

In her speeches during the campaign, Mrs. Clinton has taken advantage of her time in the limelight to show America a softer version of her shoulder-padded, health-care-obsessed former self.

Political insiders said she was steadfast and generous this campaign season – without suggesting that she overexerted herself. Some speculated that she didn’t go overboard on behalf of Kerry-Edwards because she’s saving up her energy for her own push to be president.

“She should have done more, but you only have so many chips in this world,” a Republican political consultant who asked not to be named, said. “She’s keeping her capital close to her chest, in case she wants to use it. And she doesn’t want to alienate Bush either.”

Yet she’s spared no criticism of the Bush administration. At a recent Manhattan fund-raising event, she said, “I cannot have four more years of this.”

When she first stepped into the White House almost 12 years ago, Hillary Clinton was perceived as a shrewd but shrill “co-president.” In the years since, she has recast her image to that of a competent politician in her own right. She’s gone from being feared as controlling to admired as in control.

The starchy-looking power suits have been replaced by black chic accented with pink sweaters draped over the shoulders. A state senator from Manhattan, David Paterson, said that when she began her career as a politician, “her message, to me, was a little stilted, over prepared, a little stiff.” Now, he said, Mrs. Clinton has come into her own and allowed a “personal warmth” to come through.

She’s the marquee name of the Democratic Party. Her career as a senator has, thus far, been snafu-free. As a Democratic moderate – she voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq as well as the $87 billion supplementary authorization, which Senator Kerry famously voted against – she can hope to appeal across party lines. But it’s Hillary’s star power that’s her greatest asset, and flaw.

“I’ve been in rooms where she shows up and people just flock to her. It’s like she’s a magnet and the other people are filings,” a political consultant, Norman Adler, said.

The flip side is that Mrs. Clinton has more than her share of voters who feel repelled by the former first lady. “She doesn’t have to introduce herself,” a Democratic political consultant, Brad Lawrence, said. “She has to reintroduce herself.”

On Election Day 2004, after the Clintons cast their votes and went outside, they entertained reporters’ questions.

Mr. Clinton did most of the talking, providing thoughtful – at times rhapsodic – answers about his health (he’s feeling well, thank you) and voter intimidation in swing states (he can’t abide it).As he spoke, his wife stood by, her hands clasped and her head nodding in an encouraging, June Cleaverish way.

When the senator was asked if she might accept an appointment if Mr. Kerry becomes president, she gasped, “Oh no!” and her crescent-shaped blue eyes widened. “I’m looking forward to working with Kerry on behalf of New York,” Hillary Clinton said. “It would be great to have a Democrat back in the White House.”