Hillary a "Nightmare for Congressional and State Legislative Candidates"

Could there be a little dissension in the Dem party apparatchik ranks? Could Hillary the Unbeatable actually be a problem for the down ballot candidates? From CNN:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Looking past the presidential nomination fight, Democratic leaders quietly fret that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the top of their 2008 ticket could hurt candidates at the bottom.

They say the former first lady may be too polarizing for much of the country. She could jeopardize the party's standing with independent voters and give Republicans who otherwise might stay home on Election Day a reason to vote, they worry.

In more than 40 interviews, Democratic candidates, consultants and party chairs from every region pointed to internal polls that give Clinton strikingly high unfavorable ratings in places with key congressional and state races.

"I'm not sure it would be fatal in Indiana, but she would be a drag" on many candidates, said Democratic state Rep. Dave Crooks of Washington, Ind.

Unlike Crooks, most Democratic leaders agreed to talk frankly about Clinton's political coattails only if they remained anonymous, fearing reprisals from the New York senator's campaign. They all expressed admiration for Clinton, and some said they would publicly support her fierce fight for the nomination — despite privately held fears.

The chairman of a Midwest state party called Clinton a nightmare for congressional and state legislative candidates.

A Democratic congressman from the West, locked in a close re-election fight, said Clinton is the Democratic candidate most likely to cost him his seat.

A strategist with close ties to leaders in Congress said Democratic Senate candidates in competitive races would be strongly urged to distance themselves from Clinton.

The issue of Clinton's negatives is not exactly breaking news. Anybody that's paid attention the her campaign from the beginning has known that she's inspires the best and worst emotions in voters. There aren't too many people with a neutral opinion of Madame Hillary.

I still think she could win, but the more you hear from her the less you are likely to like her. I think there's a healthy dose of Bush fatigue going on right now, and the closer Hillary gets to the nomination and general election, the more that Clinton fatigue will kick in. At some point the voters of this country will ask the obvious question: Isn't there anyone but a Bush or Clinton capable of being president of this country?