Hillary joins race: 'I'm in to win'

NEW YORK — Sen. Hillary Clinton announced Saturday that she will seek to become the first female U.S. president, declaring "I'm in. And I'm in to win."

Clinton, 59, D-N.Y. and the wife of former President Bill Clinton, announced the start of an exploratory presidential committee on her Web site. She already leads in polls for the Democratic nomination, topping rivals such as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards.

While Clinton has the best shot yet for a woman to win the White House, she also faces opposition across the country. Her unfavorable ratings hover in the 40 percent range, well above Edwards or Obama. She also has to overcome her 2002 vote to support the unpopular war in Iraq and what she calls "the scars" from her failed health-care plan in the 1990s.

"She enters as the front-runner for the nomination, but the biggest doubts always surround her electability," said Mark Rozell, a public policy professor at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. "Clinton commands strong loyalty from her core supporters, but she also attracts intense opposition."

Evangelical Christian leader Jerry Falwell in September told a group of activists and pastors that Clinton would energize his constituents to get out and vote against the Democrats more than anyone else. "If Lucifer ran, he wouldn't" energize as much opposition, Falwell said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Republican donor and Texas businessman Dick Collins last year set up a Web site called "Stop Her Now" with a banner that says it's "rescuing America from the radical ideas of Hillary Clinton." The site features cartoons of Clinton, news on her activities and a joke of the week about her.

"There's a cottage industry that has spent hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to define Hillary Clinton," said Terry McAuliffe, a Clinton adviser and former head of the Democratic National Committee, in an interview before the announcement. "Republicans are scared of her — rightfully so."

As a result of her intense support and opposition during eight years in the White House and six in the Senate, Clinton's name recognition is "nearly 100 percent," said Rogan Kersh, a public service professor at New York University. She may also gain some support simply by being the first female frontrunner.

Emily's List, a political committee devoted to electing pro- choice Democratic women, lost no time in endorsing Clinton. The Washington-based group's president, Ellen Malcolm, said in a statement that Emily's List will tap into its more than 100,000 members to raise money and build support.