I see a lot of diaries and comments here from people on first name terms with a friend named Hillary. It's clear that some people like her and others don't. From the things I've read here, it would seem that she has some likeable qualities, and some qualities less so. Just like the rest of us.
But who is she?
Being new here, my first shot at learning was to read the comments mentioning her and attempt to grok the context. But that gave me an obviously wrong answer: The context made it seem like they were discussing Senator Clinton.
That can't be right. Other senators discussed here are referred to by surname, sometimes but not always preceded by given name, the title Senator, or both.
To distinguish Senator Clinton from her husband, President Clinton? No, that can't be it either. Since President Clinton reached the oval office from a governor's chair rather than a seat in the senate, the phrase "Senator Clinton" disambiguates that one just fine where needed. Usually it's not needed. Nobody's going to think you're talking about the former president if you say "Clinton disagrees with Obama on ..."
So, who is Hillary?