AT a town-hall meeting in Derry, N.H., in January, Mitt Romney tried to stir the crowd in the immediate aftermath of Barack Obama’s upset victory in Iowa: “We cannot afford Barack Obama as the next president!” About two people applauded. The next day, in Nashua, he mentioned Obama, but added, “I can’t wait to meet Hillary Clinton face to face.” Sustained applause.
Taken together, those two very different reactions provide a reliable barometer of conservative sentiment toward the Democratic candidates. Conservatives have long experience loathing Hillary Clinton. It has become second nature. If they ever do come to feel the same way about Barack Obama-and they may not-it will take time. Hillary Clinton will long hold pride of place as an object of scorn and a source of motivation for conservatives.
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