WASHINGTON — With the clock running out on preparations for the Democratic convention, advisers to Sen. Barack Obama are trying to reach a compromise with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over exactly how her candidacy will be honored and how to defuse the threat of upheaval from her supporters in Denver.

The Obama and Clinton camps said this week that they agree on a central point: They would like to avoid an embarrassing display of discord from Clinton's most ardent backers when the national convention begins in just over two weeks. Conversations about how to achieve that have increasingly focused on the question of whether Clinton's name will be offered in a nomination roll-call vote by delegates, even though she has said she is not challenging Obama's claim as the party's standard-bearer.

Clinton confidante Cheryl Mills is working directly with Obama campaign manager David Plouffe to reach an accommodation, both sides confirmed. Clinton has been told she will probably be slated to speak Tuesday night, Aug. 26, two nights before Obama's acceptance speech, and she is working on remarks that will touch on her breakthrough as a woman but will be, in the words of one associate, largely "forward looking."

Bill Clinton will have a role. Democratic officials said yesterday that Clinton will give a speech on the third night of the convention, before an address by the as-yet-to-be-named running mate for Obama, the party's presumptive presidential nominee. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity before the details were formally announced.

Exactly what the formal nominating process will look like at the convention remains an open question. Last week, Hillary Clinton told supporters at a meeting in Palo Alto, Calif., posted on YouTube, that she was looking for a "strategy" to keep the peace and that sometimes a "catharsis" is necessary. Her comments were read by some as suggesting a convention roll-call vote to let her supporters voice their preference for her, even though she would still lose the nomination.

But yesterday, Obama distanced himself from the idea of using a vote on the convention floor as a venting session.

"I'm letting our respective teams work out the details," he told reporters on his campaign plane when asked about the convention negotiations. "I don't think we're looking for catharsis. I think what we are looking for is energy and excitement about the prospects of changing this country, and I think that people who supported a whole range of different candidates during the primaries are going to come out of that convention feeling absolutely determined that we have to take the White House back."

Playing down the competing goals, Obama added: "I spoke to Senator Clinton this week. She's campaigning for me in Nevada and Florida. She is very enthusiastic about the need for a unified party. I think we are going to have a terrific convention. As is true in all conventions, we're still working out the mechanics of the four days. Our staffs are in communication, my staff with Senator Clinton's staff. But I don't anticipate any problems."

Still, some Clinton supporters and delegates are mobilizing to attempt to force a symbolic vote, or at least draw as much attention to Clinton as possible during the Denver events. Michele Thomas, 40, a Los Angeles photographer, said she is helping organize delegates who favor a Clinton roll call.

"If the party is speaking about unity, they (the Clinton delegates) believe the only way to unify the party is actually allowing them to vote," Thomas said yesterday. "Moving beyond the convention, if they were not allowed to vote there would be a lot of resentment."

Although Obama's vice presidential nominee selection appears to be moving more slowly than some insiders had expected, the tentative convention schedule is beginning to take shape, with Michelle Obama slotted to speak on Monday night, Aug. 25, during opening events.

Also slated for that Monday is a tribute to ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., featuring a short biographical film. Two nights later, officials expect the vice presidential nominee to dominate the stage, along with, potentially, a separate keynote speaker (the role that Obama filled in 2004).

There will be at least one biographical film on Obama, and a separate Hollywood production may be in the works. Organizers are hoping to maximize the participation of Republicans and independents in attendance, and they will focus on first-time convention participants in addition to using the huge crowds expected to flock to Obama's acceptance speech and other events to organize new voters.