NEW YORK (AP) - Two days after a pair of hijacked planes toppled the World Trade Center, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
found herself cooling her heels outside House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office.

After helping put together a deal that would funnel $20 billion in aid to New York, the former first lady stepped aside in the final
negotiations for fear her presence would be polarizing.

The Trade Center attack is proving a test of Clinton's political savvy in working the legislative process. The freshman senator is
being asked to deliver billions of dollars in aid to New York. It is a chance for Clinton to make good on her promise to be a
roll-up-her-sleeves lawmaker who can deliver for constituents.

University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said Clinton will be judged by how she responds.
``This is one of the defining events of the past 100 years and she is right at the epicenter,'' Sabato said.

The aid negotiations offer some insight: On Sept. 13, Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer, her Democratic colleague from New
York, emerged from the Oval Office flush with victory after President Bush agreed to their request for $20 billion.

Just hours later, the deal started to unravel as a few influential Republican lawmakers balked. As the night wore on, Schumer
and Clinton furiously worked the phones to alert the New York congressional delegation to the problem, and to secure the help
of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Supporters led by Daschle went to Hastert's office. But Clinton hesitated, concerned her presence would inflame the
opposition, aides said.

New York Republican Reps. John Sweeney and James Walsh - with their close ties to the House leaders and seats on the
powerful Appropriations Committee - made the case behind closed doors.

Clinton talked instead to reporters and lawmakers who passed by.

``It is all about how best to deliver for New York,'' Clinton said later. ``That's what this is all about.''

So far, Clinton's efforts have been well-received.

``It seems almost crass to say it, but if anyone has profited from this politically it is Hillary Clinton,'' Rutgers University political
scientist Ross Baker said. Clinton, he said, has been in the public eye - supporting grieving firefighters, for example - without
monopolizing the limelight.

Clinton received her highest approval rating ever, 59 percent, in a Quinnipiac University poll of New York state voters released
Tuesday.

``I think she's handled herself superbly,'' former New York Mayor Ed Koch said.

Few members of Congress are watched as closely.

When the president addressed the joint session of Congress in the days following the attack, cameras captured Clinton on the
House floor chatting with Schumer, yawning and, in one instance, rolling her eyes.

Aides explained that Clinton was simply tired, but critics lambasted her as insensitive. Her demeanor spawned letters - pro and
con - from readers in newspapers such as the New York Post and The Washington Post.

``Lots of people yawn during long speeches. Her yawn was invested with political meaning,'' Sabato said.

The Trade Center tragedy has also prompted some changes from Clinton. She has lashed out at Bush since he took office, but
now praises him for responding quickly to New York's needs.

She even opened up a bit on a subject about which she is normally reticent - her daughter, Chelsea. Clinton described her
panic in the hours after the attack when she was unable to immediately locate her daughter, who was just a dozen blocks away
from the Trade Center.

But perhaps the most intriguing development has been the seeming thaw between her and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Giuliani
belittled Clinton as a carpetbagger last year when they were running against each other for the Senate, a race Giuliani dropped
out of while he underwent treatment for prostate cancer.

The day after the Trade Center attack, Giuliani and Clinton toured the rubble together along with other politicians. The
once-bitter rivals appeared downright friendly - whispering together, occasionally clasping arms or sharing a laugh.

Giuliani is now depending on the senator's help delivering needed federal dollars. And by several accounts, their staffs are
working well together.

``Politics is politics,'' Clinton said in an interview. ``But once you're elected you come together. We've been working closely
together and it's been extremely positive.''