PHILADELPHIA — The conflict at the Democratic National Convention between Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the strident forces of Bernie Sanders is putting liberal leaders in a bind, perhaps none more so than Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Warren, who has wholeheartedly endorsed Clinton but was passed over for vice president last week, settled back Tuesday into the realities of her role leading the party’s liberal wing from her Senate perch.

She turned her focus to economic policy — where she made her reputation — while continuing to call for unity in the party. As “Bernie or Bust’’ demonstrators rallied in the streets of Philadelphia for a second day, Warren told reporters that if Sanders supporters continue to boo and heckle the proceedings inside the convention hall, “then it’s good for Donald Trump, just like Bernie said.’’

But Warren very clearly didn’t want to spend much time criticizing Sanders supporters, who agree with her policy positions and form part of her own base, and she pivoted to positive territory, gushing about first lady Michelle Obama’s speech Monday.

“We need to offer an alternative to the American people, an alternative to Donald Trump’s hate-filled message that turns people against people, and to say that we have a better vision,’’ she said, speaking to a handful of local media outlets.

There was a time not long ago when the left wing of the Democratic Party yearned for Warren to accept the party’s nomination here this week. She declined to be drafted. Then she was short-listed for vice president. That opportunity slipped away with Clinton’s selection of Tim Kaine.

Then Monday night it felt as if some of the air had escaped from the Elizabeth Warren balloon.

She hit all the same notes against GOP nominee Trump that have thrilled Democrats for months, but her jabs landed with a little less oomph than when she appeared with Clinton at a Cincinnati rally in June.

On the floor, many delegates booed and clapped at all the right spots — but with less than full enthusiasm. To be sure, Warren turned out to have a tricky slot in the program, coming right after Michelle Obama’s powerful, emotional appeal and before Sanders closing remarks, with his thousand-plus delegates growing restive.

But there were signs Warren’s standing on the left has taken some hits during the bruising primary battle.

Warren remained on the sidelines during the contested portion of the primary race, and did not endorse Clinton until Sanders had been vanquished.

On Monday night, she was heckled by some Sanders supporters in the convention hall, who cried out during her keynote speech, “We trusted you!’’

During Bill Clinton’s speech Tuesday night, Warren sat in the convention hall with Chelsea Clinton.

“I have such mixed feelings about Elizabeth Warren. She was the one that got my hopes up first when this nation was being drowned in garbage, you know. And I was so disappointed that she didn’t speak out for Bernie,’’ said Kathy Deer of New York City, wearing a well-worn “Bernie 2016’’ T-shirt, waiting for Warren to take the stage at a policy-focused talk Tuesday.

“I’m so torn with what’s going on right now, just torn in half,’’ said Deer, who traveled to Philadelphia to participate in pro-Sanders rallies. “I don’t know which way to turn. So I figure, she’s my old hero, I’ll come and see what she has to say, but I’m very much on the line.’’

The Clinton campaign is hoping that voters like Deer ultimately do come around. Warren said Tuesday that she hadn’t discussed specifics with the Clinton campaign about where she will be deployed on the campaign trail in the months ahead, but she has proven herself to be one of the most effective Trump opponents in the Democratic Party, both on the stump and on the social-media battlefield.

“They’ve asked if I will help, and I have said of course that I will help,’’ she said.

But Warren is also looking ahead to after the election, when greater attention will once again be paid to policy debates in Congress. She delivered a slick 40-minute PowerPoint presentation on how and why the US economy is failing American working families — and, of course, how to fix it.

She did not utter the name Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or Bernie Sanders once.

Warren’s presentation was one part professor, one part folksy Oklahoma native, and she painted a picture of rich corporate interests dictating policies that leave 90 percent of Americans squeezed. She got personal, emotion threading her voice as she recalled the death of her father while a family photo lit up the screen. “It was really, really hard, and we came really, really close to disaster.’’

She offered examples of how to chip away at such a complex problem as income inequality, describing one potential solution could lie with a “little’’ tax loophole that allows corporations to take tax write-offs on the bonuses they pay CEOs.

“We stitch up that one little loophole, and we would have $55 billion to spend over the next 10 years. Now what we could do with $55 billion,’’ she said to whoops and applause. She ticked off some options, offering clues to potential legislative priorities: allow almost every American with college loans to refinance at lower rates; replace the poisonous lead water pipes in Flint, Mich., and dozens of other cities; double federal spending for Alzheimer’s and cancer research.

It was the kind of pithy policy talk, breaking down wonky subjects to digestible, passion-filled, black-and-white bites that has made Warren the most feared, and hated, politician among financial companies.

“The reality is Senator Warren is the most powerful Democrat on financial services issues in D.C., and that reality hasn’t changed one bit, despite the presidential conjecture that has surrounded her the past year and a half,’’ said Isaac Boltansky, an analyst with Compass Point Research & Trading.

Warren’s presentation, which she has delivered a handful of times before in recent weeks, suggests that the first-term Massachusetts senator plans to broaden her portfolio to encompass a broader set of economic policy matters.

Asked if she has specific legislative ideas in mind, she responded: “Oh, I have many.’’

Victoria McGrane can be reached at victoria.mcgrane@ globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @vgmac.