Discussing why Rudi and Hillary are considered polarizing candidates, Kevin Drum hits the nail on the head:

But there’s a huge difference here. A guy like Giuliani is polarizing because he actively chooses to be. It’s part of his persona. He wants people to hate him

Hillary, by contrast, is polarizing not because she wants to be, but because the right-wing attack machine made her that way. She’s “polarizing” only because a certain deranged slice of conservative nutjobs detest her.

And guess what? By this standard, Jimmy Carter is polarizing. Bill Clinton is polarizing. Al Gore is polarizing. John Kerry is polarizing. Do you see the trend here?

That sounds beyond right, it sounds like an explanation for the entire past decade plus of politics since Clinton came into office. I can’t name a thing Clinton (Bill or Hillary) has done to be polarized. In fact, the most common objection by those on the Democratic side is that the Clintons triangulate too damn much. On those issues where I disagreed with Clinton, I almost always did because he compromised on good policy to get legislation passed. If that’s not the definition of pragmatic, centrist policy, I’m not sure what is.

Can anyone suggest anything either Clinton has done that’s “polarizing”?

By all measures, Hillary and the Democrats she has aligned around her, including the DLC folks, are exactly of this mold. Of course, the country has moved so far right in discourse that many Democrats, myself included, feel that compromise only moves us even further right. We need a leftward shift, a focus on sound policy that lifts all boats, no matter whether you’re rich or not.