"He can really claim credit for being, in essence, a Democratic visionary," he said. "He's almost got this kind of prophetic image now. I think it really gives him a lot of credibility in a very open Democratic field where some of the other candidates, I don't think, come in with as much credibility and image of intelligence that he brings."

Hart is expected to appear at the Westchester County Democratic Committee dinner in New Rochelle tonight, but he won't be giving any speeches. He was invited by Neil McCarthy, a lawyer from Pleasantville. "I thought it would be a good chance to meet some old friends," Hart said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Hart said the public's mood was "apprehensive." He was predictably unsparing in his criticism of the Bush administration and its prosecution of a war with Iraq. George Bush, he said, "is not an international man," and his entering office was "tabula rasa in terms of how to deal with the world."

Hart said he was firmly in the camp of those who believe the Iraqi war will result in another terrorist attack here. But, he was asked, aren't we going to get hit no matter what we do in Iraq?

Hart replied that al-Qaida documents found in Afghanistan suggested that the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia after the first Gulf War was used as an effective recruiting device and motivator for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"So you can say, 'Yes, we are going to get hit again,' but there are degrees of probability and degrees of ways in which we can stimulate that," he said. "And invading a sovereign Arab nation in the most volatile region in the world is clearly a way of doing that. It's not just theoretical; it's very practical."

Hart said he wouldn't be surprised if within the next two weeks the country is put on Code Red alert, the highest threat assessment. He said there is no way of predicting the next attack.

"You can't," he said. "But my guess is - if I were to think like they do - I would go after multiple targets in the center of the country, not New York, but Denver, Cleveland and Dallas, and I would use biological weapons."

This is chilling stuff, and if nothing else, it should serve to reduce the importance of a long-ago dalliance on a boat called Monkey Business.

Hart said that event in his life matters "less and less," though it continues to be brought up by journalists.

"I never get questions about it from active Democrats or ordinary people," he said. "Most of them realize that it was a single incident 15 years ago, and life has gone on."

Hart may not be a new Democrat anymore. But he is renewed.