WASHINGTON — She may be the country's most popular Democrat. But no other public figure may be as controversial and reviled as New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Nearly half the country dislikes her for one reason or another. And while other potential 2008 presidential candidates barely raise anyone's blood pressure, people who despise the former first lady are passionate, almost obsessive, in their hatred.

Scores of conservative talk shows, books and anti-Hillary Web sites portray the New York Democrat as an ambitious, calculating woman riding on her husband's coattails to push an extreme liberal agenda, undermine traditional values and position herself to run for president.

Right-wing Web sites such as BlogsAgainstHillary.com are filled with negative commentary on the first lady's liberal views. One site even sells anti-Hillary apparel, mugs, tote bags and teddy bears emblazoned by an "Anyone But Hillary 2008" slogan.

"She is just very ruthless; she's not to be trusted," said John McAvoy, 50, a retired foreign service officer and conservative Republican in Fairfax, Va.

"She just rubs me the wrong way from marital (relationship) to (liberal) policies to how she behaves," McAvoy said. "She would be a terror as president."

To her supporters, Clinton has the right qualities for a presidential candidate: smart lawmaker, skilled politician and sharp lawyer. But that same resume inspires fear and even loathing among some of her detractors, particularly social conservatives. They see her as a threat to family values and as a liberal in a moderate's clothing. Some are uncomfortable with the notion that a woman could be elected president.

For most, it is simply that she is the wife of Bill Clinton whom they despised and attacked throughout his administration. Many continue to question her motives for staying with him after the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Most believe she is moving toward the political center solely for a presidential bid, but would emerge as the "dragon lady of the left" if elected.

"There's not a Democrat they'd like to defeat more than Hillary," New York pollster John Zogby said. "These are people who simply hate her guts because she is married to Bill Clinton and stuck with him. She also broke the mold of what an American woman and American wife should be in their view."

Indeed, the average conservative has not forgotten Bill Clinton's infidelities and believes Hillary Clinton protected him to advance her own political ambitions.

"How many women would have hung around," said Terrell Spence, 59, a conservative Republican from Centreville, Va. "I guess I don't like that idea of swinging off her husband's shirttails and hanging on during all the adversity because her sole purpose in life is to be the first lady president."