CLINTON: covers her bases. KERRY is surrounded by women.

Some very important friends are parachuting into Boston next week to help Senator John Kerry raise funds in his bid for the White House — the most prominent of whom is New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton’s appearance at the Sheraton Boston — along with California senator Barbara Boxer, Washington senator Maria Cantwell, Maryland senator Barbara Mikulski, and Michigan senator Debbie Stabenow — is causing a stir among political insiders: might Clinton be lining up behind a potential Kerry 2004 presidential run?

Not so fast, says one Democratic observer. Clinton is helping most of the Democratic presidential hopefuls — especially Senate majority leader Tom Daschle.

"Hillary Clinton is very smart. By helping her colleagues, she is building on those relationships," says Democratic political consultant Henry Sheinkopf. "She’s a proven fundraiser, and it can only help her and New York. Politics is a game of relationships."

After collecting so many chits, perhaps Clinton will decide to call them in for a run in her own right, in 2004 or beyond.

The Hillary factor aside, it’s no accident that the headliners at Kerry’s event are all women. The move reprises a maneuver from 1996, when the Massachusetts senator successfully rebuffed a challenge from then-governor William Weld. Then, as now, Kerry scored points with a fundraiser emphasizing his support of women’s issues, and the widespread support among women that he in turn enjoys.