...last month, Kerry raised $38 million -- more than Al Gore raised for his entire primary campaign in 2000. At one Kerry fund-raiser in Beverly Hills, Calif., about 2,300 people turned up; 1,800 had been expected....

"Even people who have developed complaining to an art form, right now, they're willing to be 100 percent supportive," said Joe Grandmaison, the former chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, during a Kerry fund-raiser last Wednesday in Washington.

Another was held Thursday in Chicago. It raised a combined $5 million for Kerry and the Democratic National Committee.

Campaign officials expect that a Boston fund-raiser tomorrow will bring in several million dollars.

Such unity stands in contrast to 1988, when then-nominee Michael S. Dukakis was still negotiating with the Rev. Jesse Jackson about a speaking role for the Rainbow Coalition candidate during convention week in Atlanta. It also differs from 1992, when Jerry Brown continued to be the party's front-page newsmaker by refusing to release his delegates to support another candidate even as the party gathered for its convention in New York.

In 2000, it took months before Bill Bradley and Al Gore put aside their differences after a rough primary campaign.

This time around, the Kerry campaign is benefiting in ways big and small. Experienced Washington attorneys, used to billing hundreds of dollars an hour, are volunteering for the campaign, in some cases in such nontraditional roles as website workers. When Kerry is shown on television delivering a major address, as he did repeatedly in the aftermath of his string of primary wins, Internet donations spike, said campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill.