Shrill is the word. Like a cold wind against exposed skin. The outer darkness and gnashing of teeth. An old time reactionary railing against the radicalism of the incumbent. So spake Senator Hillary Clinton according to Drudge, eternal enemy of the Clintons' since he was the first to leak the story of Monica.

Indeed, politics has become so shrill. Whatever Bill Clinton's faults and mistakes— and there were many—I could never understand the hysterical hatred of this man, but now that Bush, a very different president, is also the object of the same hysteria from the other side, I do scratch my head sometimes. I was never comfortable in either scenario because, for all their differences and despite that my politics is more in keeping with Bush's than Clinton's, and while I find myself trusting Bush, not uncritically, in ways I never would Clinton, whose political stance underscored by polls I never really knew to be firm conviction except for NAFTA, lowering deficit, and Kosovo, hatred of both these men shows how divided the nation is.

Now the Senator from New York, formerly the First Lady and still married to William for political expediency (would YOU want to be married to such a spouse, politics aside?), has got it in for Mr. Bush. I'll give you the full Drudge (story developing, of course):

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI DEC 05, 2003 19:58:09 ET XXXXX HILLARY RIPS BUSH: WARNS OF 'IRREPARABLE HARM' TO NATION Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton blasts President Bush and his "radical" administration on Saturday for attempting to dismantle the "central pillars of progress in our country during the 20th century." Clinton makes the comments to Saturday editions of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE, sources tell DRUDGE. The former first lady says she has become convinced the Republican administration wants "to undo the New Deal," the Roosevelt-era policies that ushered in Social Security and a host of other governmental assistance programs. She said that Bush, who campaigned as a "compassionate conservative" in 2000, had taken a "hard-right turn to pursue an extremist agenda" after moving into the White House. "I don't know where it came from, but the fact is that this President Bush has not only been radical and extreme in terms of Democratic presidents but in terms of Republican presidents, including his own father," she says. She believes Bush is beatable next year because his administration is "making America less free, fair, strong, smart than it deserves to be in a dangerous world." "We have to change direction before irreparable harm is done," she adds. "This administration is in danger of being the first in American history to leave our nation worse off than when they found it."

Bush expands Medicare and he is the end of the New Deal? That guy in the White House is a big spender. Have him over for Christmas. It will be a bash!

As for Bush being beatable, anything is possible. But Hillary knows that it's unlikely and she's betting on it. Her political trajectory to the White House would be better served by another term for Bush so she can swoop down in '08 and claim her moral victory for the New Deal. You really don't believe she believes what she's saying? Hillary? She wants Bush to win this time.