Somewhere, USA: I saw a poll on TV last night that shows Hillary's favorables at 44%, unfavorables at 46. How do you think that bodes for her in '08?

Sidney Blumenthal: I would say first of all that I would hope that Hillary would endorse the incumbent Democratic president in the election in 2008. Nonetheless, it's clear from that poll that Hillary, like former president Clinton, creates divergent polls in politics. The country remains sharply divided since the 2000 election which Al Gore, after all, won in the popular vote. When Bill Clinton was elected, he was regarded by some Republicans as illegitimate and the efforts to overthrow him finally culminated in an unconstitutional impeachment trial in which he was finally acquitted. He was a threat to the power of the Republican Party and a host of special interests from the tobacco companies, the health insurance industry to the gun manufacturers. His conciliatory manner and moderation and ability to create a new political center only made him that much more threatening.

Hillary is an extension of all that and she draws and creates around her a similar magnetic field. It seems as though it may be about the Clintons personally and there's no doubt that charisma plays a role here but there are deeper issues that involve the American people that are subject to conflict that underlie the divided opinion that remains at the heart of American politics.