First Lady Headlines Hamptons Fund-Raisers : Campaign: Hillary Clinton gets endorsement of president as speeches sound more like Senate bid.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton sounded ever more like a Senate candidate Saturday, stumping for money in the posh Hamptons resort area of New York, hand in hand with her husband.

For his part, President Clinton gave his wife a sound endorsement as the couple kicked off a weekend of Democratic Party fund-raising at a barbecue hosted by friend and lobbyist Liz Robbins.

“If you want somebody . . . who has more heart, more intelligence, more ability and more commitment than any person I have ever known . . . then you ought to send her to the Senate and give her a chance to serve,” Clinton told the 300 people who paid $1,000 each to hobnob and munch ribs and chicken wings and hear Mrs. Clinton outline her ideas for education and the disadvantaged.

The guests, including Sen. Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat, and former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, were entertained by singer Phoebe Snow.

Hillary Clinton spoke of her candidacy as a possible one, not something that is yet certain. “Like most of you, I have always been somebody who supported other people, and now I am stepping forward and asking you for support and for your help, and that’s because I really think it matters who serves in the United States Senate,” she told the crowd.

“I have no illusions about how challenging the U.S. Senate is, but I have worked with the senators and I have seen what we can do if we do have the kind of commitment to making a difference in people’s lives,” she said.