Democrats refining strategies as primaries near

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York is working to show her warmer side, blunt ever-sharper attacks from rivals, and avoid alienating liberal primary voters. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is trying to demonstrate he is sufficiently experienced and knock Clinton off her pedestal without sullying his image. Former North Carolina senator John Edwards is concentrating on Iowa and seeking to capitalize on Obama's unmoving poll numbers.

With the first primary votes approaching, the leading Democratic presidential contenders are sharpening their strategies, realigning staff, and refining their messages as they position themselves to emerge as the party's nominee. And the lower-tier Democratic candidates - Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut - are pursuing disparate paths toward the nomination.

As the primary calendar gyrates wildly, all these White House hopefuls face critical strategic choices in the waning months: where to concentrate their money and time; how to woo voters who are just starting to pay close attention; which states to focus on at the expense of others; and how best to employ television ads. Their plans for the homestretch offer a window into how they believe they can win.

Despite Clinton's pole position at this point - she holds comfortable leads in most state and national polls - even her supporters acknowledge that the race has a lot of maturing to do.

"This is a moment in time, and a month from now it's a different moment in time, and whatever the primary date is is a different moment in time," said Terie Norelli, the House speaker in New Hampshire and a Clinton supporter.

Clinton has largely run a disciplined and effective campaign. But the more she stays up in the polls, and the closer the voting gets, the bigger the target on her back becomes.

All of Clinton's primary rivals are attempting to take her down a notch or two. Last week they seized on her vote for a tough-worded Senate condemnation of Iran's military intentions, then accused her of backtracking from remarks earlier this year that she would not unconditionally meet with Iranian leaders.

Clinton's advisers say she is actively working to break down negative stereotypes of her - as a calculating, polarizing figure stewed in Beltway politics - by showing a warmer side to voters.

"I think that is what people doubted early on in this campaign - would voters develop a comfort level with her?" said Steve Grossman, a longtime Boston Democratic activist and a top Clinton fund-raiser. "People are making that paradigm shift on a fairly consistent basis, and that's why the army of activists is growing."

Said Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist: "We know that a lot of people have either completely false or very outdated images of her and that the best way to shatter those is to let the voters see her and let them talk to her."

At times Clinton has acted as if she is already the nominee. Last week she trumpeted her remedies for the middle class while Republican candidates debated economic issues outside Detroit. Some supporters and independent analysts say she risks irking Democratic primary voters, but Penn said the main themes of her campaign, such as her healthcare plan, appeal to primary and general-election voters both.

Obama is busy using campaign appearances, TV ads, and surrogates to overcome what has become the chief obstacle to his election: questions about whether his short tenure in Washington makes him unprepared for the White House. On the campaign trail in Nashua, earlier this month, Obama's wife, Michelle, asked voters: Why, if her husband is so inexperienced, was he right about Iraq when his rivals were not?

Obama has also opened what he called a "different phase" of his campaign, in which he will more explicitly detail his distinctions with Clinton. That decision was welcomed by some of Obama's top financial and political supporters, who convened in Des Moines earlier this month for a powwow.

"What he wants to do and what he plans to do and what we want him to do is be clear about the differences," said Alan Solomont, who leads Obama's fund-raising operation in New England.

Obama's campaign is expanding his operations around the country but remains highly focused on Iowa, the first state to vote and the one place where polls indicate a three-way contest.

His Iowa strategy includes closely tracking voters for whom Obama is a potential second choice; the campaign believes supporters of Edwards and other candidates will gravitate to Obama over Clinton if their first-choice candidate stalls.

"There may be concerns about his experience, there may be concerns about is America ready for an African-American president?" said Gordon Fischer, a former state Democratic Party chairman advising Obama. "But he has a lot of good will among Iowans."

Edwards, too, is focusing heavily on Iowa, hoping his second-place showing in 2004 and strong organization will help him overtake his better-funded opponents. Edwards's campaign sees promise in the fact that he is competitive in Iowa polls without having spent much money on TV ads.

Joe Trippi, a senior Edwards adviser, said the press has framed the Democratic race as a Clinton-Obama showdown. But it is increasingly clear, he said, that Clinton has won that battle, giving Edwards a chance to position himself as the true alternative to Clinton.

"We have to make our case that the choice in this race is not between Clinton and Obama, it's between Clinton and Edwards, and make that choice very clear . . . for people," Trippi said.

Aside from Clinton, most campaigns cite the past in arguing how fluid the primary contest remains. Indeed, at this point four years ago, Howard Dean was riding high, Wesley Clark's upstart campaign showed promise, and John F. Kerry was back in the pack.

"Everything that has happened to date is dramatically less important than that which will happen," said Mark Mellman, a Kerry strategist in 2004.

"It's the events that we don't know about yet - we can't know about yet - that will be of outsized significance."

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.