WASHINGTON: Two years after her tumultuous tenure as US first lady ended, Hillary Rodham Clinton again finds herself under public scrutiny, garnering accolades from fans and renewed scorn from detractors.

A Gallup poll late last week found that Clinton, now serving in the US Senate, is the woman most admired by Americans, edging out current first lady Laura Bush.

Earlier in the week, Democratic voters polled said Clinton was their top choice to run for the White House in 2004 — outpolling likely candidates John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, and Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Asked in a CNN interview a few weeks after her election to the Senate whether she intended to seek the presidency, Clinton replied that she had promised New York voters that she would serve out the full six-year term and that she intended to keep that vow.

“I am intent upon being the best senator that I can be,” Clinton said.

An attorney with a Yale pedigree, Clinton was a controversial first lady who seemed to chafe at hosting state dinners and undertaking the ceremonial duties that traditionally make up the bulk of a first lady’s responsibilities.

Supporters say she has come into her own in the US Senate however. Her years in the White House have netted her instant star status in the legislature, but she also quickly earned a reputation as a workhorse and team player willing to go the extra mile to build relationships with her Senate colleagues.

Still, the barrage of recent attention proves Clinton to be as polarizing a figure today as she was during her eight years as first lady.

While she has become an icon adored by many Democrats, Hillary remains the member of her party conservatives most love to loathe. There are literally dozen of Internet websites focusing on Hillary. Some praise her, but most, like www.slaphillary.com and another denouncing her as “public enemy number one,” bash her.

Legal watchdog group Judicial Watch last week named her “sleaze queen” in 2002, putting her atop the organization’s “Dirty Dozen” list.

The conservative group, which named Bill Clinton as the runner-up, excoriated the former first lady as power-hungry and corrupt — “from Whitewater to FBI Filegate to Travelgate to taking over two million dollars in illegal contributions to her Senate campaign” — rattling off several scandals in which Clinton is alleged to have been involved.

And last week, the former first couple became top celebrities in the first annual “Tabloid Choice” awards.

“The editors counted up stories in the nation’s tabloids and the Clintons got way more than anyone else this year,” said Steve Coz, editorial director of the tabloids.

The Star said the Clintons got the top award “for demonstrating that power really is the greatest aphrodisiac — and for staying together in spite of it.”—AFP