Democratic presumptive nominee Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will make a choreographed effort to repair party fractures this week.
They will attend a fundraiser in Washington on Thursday and, in an event rich with symbolism, in the town of Unity, New Hampshire, on Friday.
But backers of Republican candidate John McCain see the reconciliation offensive as a chance to detonate unspent political ammunition from Senator Clinton's attacks that still litter the campaign trail.
Senior Democrats had always feared the bile of the prolonged Democratic nomination struggle, which effectively cleaved the party's core support in two, could damage whoever emerged as the party champion.
That is one reason why Hillary Clinton, despite losing the contest, still has a vital role in unifying the party, and remains an important ally in Mr Obama's quest for the presidency.
As the Democratic epic unfolded, the former first lady, former president Bill Clinton and surrogates questioned Mr Obama's commander-in-chief credentials and dismissed him as an eloquent wordsmith with a thin resume.
Among Democrats, those attacks may have been damaging, but were not decisive. The question now is will John McCain's use of similar tactics be more successful and find a more receptive audience in the national electorate?
In March, Senator Clinton gave a speech in which she said: ‘Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign, I will bring a lifetime of experience, and Senator Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002.’
Those remarks have already been circulated by the Republican National Committee with a litany of other Clinton barbs.
Senator McCain has taken up where Hillary Clinton left off, hitting Mr Obama for inexperience and trying to make this campaign, like President George W Bush's 2004 triumph over Democrat John Kerry, a referendum on who will keep America safe.
