Three weeks after conceding defeat Hillary Clinton finally took the stage yesterday alongside Barack Obama, laughing about the bitter rivalry that for so long split the Democratic party in half.

They had engaged, she said, in a “spirited dialogue - that's the nicest way I could think of putting it” because “we both care so much” about the causes they have in common. “We are one party, we are one America and we are not going to rest until we take back our country.”

Every detail of their rally — what Mr Obama called “our little get-together” — had been painstakingly planned to radiate harmony, even down to the bright blue tie he wore to match Mrs Clinton's trouser suit.

They travelled together — sitting in the front seats of a plane once chartered by her but now being used by him — to the tiny town of Unity, New Hampshire, a venue chosen to symbolise their reconciliation.

Mrs Clinton said: “Well, Unity is not only a beautiful place as we can see, it's a wonderful feeling isn't it?” Mr Obama replied: “I’ve admired her as a leader, I’ve learned from her as a candidate.” Then, responding to shouts from the crowd of 6,000, he added: “She rocks! She rocks!”

He and his wife have each given Mrs Clinton $2,300 (£1,150) — the maximum allowed by law — a signal to his big donors to do the same and begin paying off her campaign debts of $22.5 million.

The Clintons have given a similar cheque to Mr Obama. On Thursday night in Washington, she introduced Mr Obama as “my friend” to her top contributors, telling them: “We will do whatever it takes to win back this White House.”

But even then, it was plain that the peace is far from complete. Mr Obama had to dodge questions about having her as his vice-presidential running mate or allowing a roll-call of Clinton delegates at the convention.

She still wants more help with the debts. But Mr Obama is apparently unwilling to tell his 1.4 million-internet donors that they must pay for bills run up when she was throwing dirt at him.

Mrs Clinton seeks recognition as the gatekeeper to the women and white working class voters who backed her in enormous numbers during the primaries. Mr Obama appears confident he can get through to them without too much assistance.

A still thornier question is what to do with Bill Clinton, who has not spoken to Mr Obama since the Illinois Senator clinched the nomination and is said to be fuming about slights on his presidency or suggestions he played the race card.

So far, he has delivered only a terse statement of support through his spokesman and Democrats describe him as a “stage two” unity project. Yesterday, Mr Obama went out of his way to shower praise on both Clintons, saying: “We need them. We need them badly.”

Indeed, Mr Obama may already be taking a page out of the “whatever it takes” playbook of the former President by tilting rightwards. The Democratic nominee has recently abandoned a pledge to take public funding because he can raise more privately, used tougher language towards Iran, and retreated from his opposition to domestic wire tapping of terror suspects. This week he praised the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a ban on handguns, a law he had once supported.

John McCain, the Republican nominee, senses an opportunity to dim Mr Obama’s aura of idealistic change, accusing him of being just another calculating “ordinary politician”. His aides increasingly refer to Mr Obama as “Clintonian”.

The trouble is that such manoeuvering appears to work just as well as it did for Mr Clinton 16 years ago. Recent opinion polls in key battleground states have shown Mr Obama leaping ahead of Mr McCain, sometimes by double-digit margins. Republican strategists are beginning to worry that the Democrats, if united, will be unstoppable.

Times Recommends

• Experts baffled by vanishing sea lions
• CIA caught in a dirty and secretive war
• Double life of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab