In Iowa, Clinton Relies Heavily on Husband's Star Power

For the rally, the Clinton campaign made sure a corner of the fairgrounds stood out as a slice of patriotic, rural America. The candidate and her husband spoke from a flatbed truck that was ringed with bales of hay topped with tiny U.S. flags.

Hewing to the Independence Day motif, more flags framed the backdrop of the grandstand at one side of the rally site. At the back of another seating area were two banners that delivered the not-so-subtle message for the week: "Ready for Change. Ready to Lead."

Although candidate Clinton has been on the campaign trail since January and in the national spotlight for at least 15 years, her advisers say most Americans still do not know her the way they want them to.

What voters do know about her relates primarily to her years as first lady -- a period in which she presided over a failed effort to reform the health-care system and was at the center of controversies. They know far less about her public life before the White House, or about her six years as a senator from New York.

Filling in the blanks is the former president's designated role this week. As former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, who endorsed Clinton after dropping out of the presidential race earlier this year, put it: "What better person to introduce her to us?"

Clinton's decision to bring her husband to the state reflected the reality that he is still far more popular than her with Iowa's Democratic activists. Her advisers hope that his presence will boost enthusiasm for her candidacy and help in organizational efforts around the state.

Although Clinton leads all national polls in the race for the Democratic nomination, she is anything but a clear front-runner in Iowa. In recent polls, she was statistically tied for the lead in two and for second place in the other.

Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) generally has held the top spot in Iowa, as a result of his strong second-place finish here in 2004 and his diligence in returning to the state time after time over the past three years. But Obama, with his enormous reservoir of cash, is equally a threat.

Clinton will spend the next three days in the state, including two with her husband. But she will not have Iowa to herself. Obama arrives Tuesday for two days of campaigning, including Independence Day with his family. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) and Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) will also spend several days in the state.