Hillary's makeover:
From 'evil' to honest

border=0> Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

Just before the year 2000, the New York Post asked readers to rank the most evil person of the millennium.

Hillary Clinton finished sixth in that survey, ranking among the likes of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and ironically, her husband, Bill.

Now just five years later, New Yorkers apparently have a different view of the woman they elected as U.S. senator in 2002.

According to a new survey by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, nearly two out of every three voters in the Empire State – 64 percent – say she is honest and trustworthy.

The jump is significant, as the same poll in September 2000 had New Yorkers split on Clinton’s honesty, 45 to 44 percent.

Among Republicans in the new survey, 38 percent say she is honest, along with 85 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independent voters.

Clinton’s job-approval rating now stands at 65 percent, an all-time high for the Democrat, rising from 38 percent five years ago.

“Remember when Sen. Hillary Clinton took office four years ago? Her husband had just pardoned Marc Rich and the Clintons were accused of looting White House furniture. Now? Two-thirds of New Yorkers say she’s a good – and honest – senator,” said Maurice Carroll, director of Quinnipiac’s Polling Institute. “State Republican leaders want Mayor Giuliani to challenge Sen. Clinton next year, and that could be a close race. But Clinton would bury Gov. Pataki.”

The survey found Sen. Clinton leading Pataki 61 to 30 percent, and Giuliani 50 to 44 percent.

In another question, offering four choices for Clinton’s future, a total of 55 percent of Democratic voters say she should run for the White House in 2008. Results are: