By David Nather, CQ Staff

Her return was a well-choreographed spectacle, complete with cheering fans waiting on the Capitol steps, but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she wants nothing more than to represent New York in the Senate again and help Democrats overcome Republican resistance to their agenda.

And the former Democratic presidential candidate says she’ll do whatever she can to help Sen. Barack Obama , D-Ill., defeat Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., in the presidential election in November, starting with a rally with Obama in Unity, N.H., on June 27 — their first campaign appearance together since she ended her own race two weeks ago.

“My goal is to be the very best senator I can be and represent the greatest state in our country,” Clinton said in an appearance with Senate Democratic leaders after she joined the caucus for its weekly party luncheon. “I am not seeking any other position.”

Clinton has some Senate work ahead this week as she eases back into her old role, which could include high profile votes on the supplemental spending bill (HR 2642) and a rewrite of the nation’s electronic surveillance laws (HR 6304). But she’ll also spend time catching up on meetings in her office and getting reacquainted with her Hill colleagues, joining House Democrats at their caucus meeting Wednesday morning.

And she’ll spend some time on her larger political duty of the moment: bringing Democrats back together after the bruising primary campaign she fought with Obama. In addition to the highly symbolic New Hampshire rally, Clinton will speak June 26 at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, trying to lure a key constituency that has had reservations about Obama. She also has a private meeting with Obama that day.

Clinton said her message for disappointed Democrats, particularly women who supported her, will be that voting for McCain would be a big mistake.

“Anyone who voted for me has very little in common with the Republican Party,” Clinton said Tuesday. “If you care about the issues I care about, and the future that I outlined during my campaign, then you really have to stay with us in the Democratic Party and vote for Senator Obama to be our next president.”

But Clinton’s first full day back in the Senate — after a year and a half of only sporadic Hill appearances as she campaigned for the presidency — had much of the feel of a continued campaign, suggesting it will be a while before she fully makes the transition back to the daily Senate grind.

She arrived at the Democratic caucus luncheon in a small motorcade, waved at the cheering crowds of tourists that had gathered on the Capitol steps to watch her arrival, and worked her way up the steps, shaking hands and greeting her fans as if the campaign had never ended.

“Where are you from?” Clinton asked a young girl who was visiting from Atlanta. “Did you have a good visit to the Capitol? Well, stay interested, okay?”

When Clinton arrived at the luncheon, Senate Democrats gave her a standing ovation that lasted about a minute. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland said she and Charles E, Schumer of New York, both close Clinton allies, welcomed her back, as did Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

“We talked about how happy we were, that we missed her and we’re happy to have her back — her verve, her voice, and her vote,” Mikulski said.

Dianne Feinstein , D-Calif., another Clinton friend, said Clinton “spoke of how critical this campaign is, how critical these issues are that we all share.” She left no doubt, Feinstein said, that she’ll give her full commitment to the Obama campaign.