Per the Boston Globe, New Hampshire Democrats are not impressed by Hillary Clinton’s standoffishness:

WASHINGTON — Those everyday Americans who want to quiz Hillary Rodham Clinton on trade, foreign policy, or even her favorite color have one option: They need to be on the right invite list to get in a room with her.
Clinton’s campaign hasn’t held a single event open to the general public since it launched five weeks ago, and there are no plans for an open forum in New Hampshire Friday when she makes her second trip to the Granite State.
This arm’s-length distance between voters and candidates might be how politics works elsewhere, but not in the first-in-the-nation-primary state. New Hampshire residents hold dear a tradition of meeting would-be presidents face to face.
When it comes to Clinton this year, “We feel like we don’t matter,” said Arnie Arnesen, a liberal Democratic activist and local radio host. “I feel like she doesn’t realize it is personal in New Hampshire.”

Au contraire. I’m quite sure that Clinton realizes that it’s personal in New Hampshire. But in truth, she probably doesn’t care. Unlike her husband, Hillary doesn’t enjoy politics for its own sake, and she’s well aware that she does better when she keeps her mouth shut. When there is a real nomination fight, being seen around New Hampshire matters a great deal. But when there isn’t? Well, she may as well run as an avatar:

“You need a sense of competition in order to make it more pressing on Clinton to do more events,” said Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire.
Candidates run a “coronation” campaign in New Hampshire at their own risk, he said. George W. Bush saw his momentum sapped in New Hampshire in 2000 when Senator John McCain of Arizona out-organized him in the state and scored an upset victory. Al Gore had the same problem in 2000; former senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey performed surprisingly well to a strong second.

That “sense of competition” is unlikely to materialize. In consequence, so is Hillary.

The only question I have is whether that will hurt her come general election time. There is no question that Hillary can win the Democratic primary without introducing herself to the people of New Hampshire and Iowa. But how many independents in those states will be left with a bad impression of her if she fails to show? Enough to make a difference in a close race? Maybe.