Two very different women, one already in the ‘big’ house and another one aspiring to the White House, have very different goals but very similar image and reputation problems.
Paris Hilton, serving time for one of her many petty transgressions personifies the vapid, ‘look-at-me-celebrities who populate today’s 
entertainment landscape. Along with Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, Hilton rose to the top with little or no talent and even less in the way of social graces. And, yet she seems proudly defiant of, and indifferent to, her less-than-stellar image. And, shame on us, her various transgressions have done little to stem our obsession with her.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, would love us to love her. Yet, despite her best intentions and efforts, she is easily the most polarizing presidential candidate. Ask 10 people about ‘Hill’ and you’ll get 10 very visceral reactions. Love her or hate her, people react to Hillary.
Take, for example, her handlers’ recent efforts to involve the electorate in selecting Clinton’s campaign theme song. Hoping to mimic something a la hubby Bill’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ in 1992, the Hillary web site was, instead, inundated with suggestions like ‘The Bitch is Back’ and ‘Cold as Ice.’
Poor Hillary wants people to believe there’s a warm and compassionate person beneath that glacial countenance. Hilton, on the other hand, has no substance whatsoever below the surface and could care 
less what people think.
Hilton’s in her ‘house’ for now and will undoubtedly make many more such visits to similar establishments in her sure-to-be sordid future. Hillary, though, will never overcome her image challenges and convince a majority of Americans to elect her to the highest office.
In their own ways, both women are sad, but fascinating, examples of how image and reputation can mean nothing in one instance, and everything in the other.
I think Hillary suffers from two separate image issues: First, many men and some women feel incredibly threatened by her. And, being a very powerful women, she’s done little to dispel that image. Second, she has changed her stance on more than one occasion. Most recently, on a tour of the heartland, she’s begun portraying herself as a real Midwesterner. She’s obviously also portrayed herself as a real New Yorker, a real Southerner, etc. etc. etc. If I were a betting man, I’d put $100 down on Al Gore’s entering the race and winning in a landslide.
Still not sure after all this time why Hilary is so hated and has such a bad PR image. I’ve always liked her and admired her no-nonsense attitude. She has a higher IQ than our current president, and importantly, has proved with a law degree that she’s had the requisite education in our Constitution. Maybe she’s just an INTJ like me.