DES MOINES  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s appearances are not billed as anything so conventional as mere “rallies” or “town meetings” or “speeches.”

In the last 10 days, Mrs. Clinton has presided over “Moms and Daughters Making History” events, “Time to Pick a President” events, “Working for Change, Working for You” events, “The Hillary I Know” events and “Every County Counts” events. She rarely names her chief competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination, but their presence looms.

“Some people think you can hope for change,” she said at one recent event, in a jab at Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. “Some people think you can just demand it,” she added, in a swipe at former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. “I think you do it by working really, really hard,” she said, before going on to catalog her résumé.

As Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Edwards try  ever so politely  to eviscerate one another in the final few days before the Iowa caucuses on Thursday, the flavor and substance of their competing performances reveal a basic cultural, thematic and stylistic divide in their campaigns, their supporters and themselves.