resident Clinton's trip last week to some of the nation's areas of greatest poverty, with the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson included in the entourage, may have much more significance than any of the president's previous domestic tours.
Despite Clinton's achievements in the international arena - his efforts toward Mideast peace, or his intervention in Kosovo - he appears to be setting his sites on creating a domestic legacy.
If successful, not only would he be credited with diminishing the worst aspects of poverty in the nation, he could also reduce another domestic legacy: the Monica Lewinsky affair and his subsequent impeachment.
Despite his acquittal, and the feeling among most Americans that his impeachment was simply an attempt by right-wing Republicans to drive him from office at all costs, the episode will leave a stain on his presidency. The right domestic detergent could help wash most of it out.
But there may be other reasons Clinton decided to go high profile with an economic program largely developed by Jackson.
Jackson was warmly received at virtually every place he and Clinton visited, and he ended up getting almost as much favorable coverage as the president. The week built on the public relations gains Jackson made earlier this year with his successful effort to free the four US soldiers captured by Serbian troops in Yugoslavia.
The more positive Jackson's image these days, the better it will be for two political hopefuls close to Clinton: Vice President Al Gore and US Senate hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Jackson, once a challenger to Democratic presidential contenders, today is both a supporter and an asset. No longer running himself, he is comfortable and more effective in his active ad hoc role as an adviser.
He is now in a position to aid Gore's presidential campaign and Hillary Clinton's senatorial campaign in New York. And both are likely to need his help to counter the huge financial support their Republican opponents will be - or in the case of George W. Bush already are - receiving.
Jackson has the ability to galvanize and motivate a coalition to go to the polls and vote Democratic. Perhaps that is why some analysts suggest that the electorate is likely to see more of Jackson in the coming months.
They also predict we'll see more of Clinton, as he helps transfer his coalition's support to Gore nationally and to Mrs. Clinton in New York. In short, expect a high-profile Jackson-Clinton team in months to come.
''Where Gore and Hillary might have support is also the areas where the voters may be apathetic or uncertain,'' said Atlanta-based pollster Harry L. Ross. ''Jackson, as a spokesperson for Gore and Hillary and as a motivator to the voters, can remove the apathy and uncertainty from members of the coalition.''
Jackson's active presence in the 2000 election may also make a difference in statewide and regional elections where he can motivate blacks, Hispanics, and other members of the Clinton coalition to go to the polls.
If so, Jackson's ability to bring these voters to the polls could result, especially in close elections, in Democrats winning enough seats to regain control of the House, and perhaps even the Senate, next year.
As another political analyst noted, there is one word that sums up Jackson's role in the campaign: ''turnout.''
Even if Gore has the support of the Clinton coalition, it is another thing to get its members to vote. Elections are about who shows up at the polls, and Jackson, as he has proven in the past, is about getting people to show up at the polls.
Jackson could be an especially important asset to Gore's campaign in those key states where a few percentage points make a difference. Jackson could also help motivate Hillary Clinton's supporters in areas of New York that are crucial to her election, particularly in black, Hispanic, and more liberal areas of the state.
Jackson's alliance with Clinton these days would never have been foreseen, given their uneasy relationship during the 1992 campaign. That was when, at Jackson's Rainbow Convention, Clinton criticized rap singer Sister Souljah for having earlier made anti-white remarks. He also faulted Jackson for inviting her to his forum. Jackson later criticized Clinton for his remarks.
But that event appears to be all but forgotten between them as the two men have grown closer. Their relationship was cemented when Jackson became Clinton's spiritual adviser, as well as his friend, during the Lewinsky scandal.
The greatest potential beneficiaries of Jackson's enhanced political status, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, might consider that the more warmly they, too, embrace Jackson, the more likely they will enjoy a strong turnout of supporters on Election Day.
Robert A. Jordan is a Globe columnist.
