Hillary Clinton and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren beamed harmoniously on stage Monday at Saint Anselm's College.
The former is the first female presidential nominee for any major political party, the latter the darling of the new progressive era; their common ground is winning the presidential election for the Democrats.
But these two women are opposing forces within their political party and their show of unity before the presidential election might collapse once the balloons are swept off of the floor, if Clinton wins the White House.
And it all hinges on whether Clinton governs as a moderate or champions progressive causes dear to Warren's heart.
Like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton's vigorous primary foe, Warren is one of the most cultivated relationships Clinton must nurture to keep her left flank from becoming as problematic as Republicans on the right will be when it comes to supporting her agenda.
Clinton and Warren hazily agree on several pocketbook policy issues; increasing the minimum wage, giving students the ability to refinance college debt and limiting access to special interest groups.
But like Sanders, Warren has determined she wants to take the country leftward and she is going to push Clinton with her in that pursuit.
Sanders has shown he has no patience for moderate governing if Clinton chooses that tact. In a statement Monday, he said: "The day after the election, I and other progressives will work equally hard to make sure that the new president and Congress implement the Democratic platform, the most progressive party agenda in American history."
It was clear he was referring to Warren as one of those progressives, and it was also clear he had no fundamental understanding, come January if Clinton wins the presidency, the country likely will still be bruised and splintered after this year's divisive election cycle.
And also unlikely for an aggressive mandate-like presidency.
The last message this country has sent in this cycle to Washington is they are looking for a sharp turn left or right — but Warren and Sanders appear to believe they have a duty to educate Clinton on going full progressive.
Look for them to push her left on any trade deals, her Supreme Court picks, a $15 federal minimum wage, tuition-free public college, enacting strident climate change regulations and curtailing "mass incarceration."
In an interview Monday with the Washington Post, Sanders said he planned to continue his push in the Senate to break up big banks and promised to pressure Clinton to appoint liberals to key Cabinet positions, including treasury secretary.
Sanders also said he would vocally oppose Clinton if she nominates the "same old, same old Wall Street guys" to regulatory positions who control financial reforms.
If Warren and Sanders take a combative stance on enacting the 51-page progressive Democratic Party platform from July’s convention, Clinton would enter her presidency attempting to appeal to both Republicans and Democrats to enact her agenda.
In short, it appears heading into her first 100 days if she becomes president, Clinton will likely have to focus on easily compromised efforts like infrastructure and transportation projects before she has to tackle the issues on which Democrats might give her more heartburn than Republicans.
Salena Zito covers national politics for Newsmax.
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