Dallas businessman Dick Collins and his rich Republican friends figure to have a lot of fun with their Web site bashing Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

The site, www.stophernow.com, is dedicated to “rescuing America from the radical ideas of Hillary Clinton.” It features anti-Hillary cartoons, jokes and, coming soon, T-shirts and other clothing items.

While it’s a bit too soon to determine its potential impact, the effort spotlights one of the New York senator’s biggest handicaps.

Unlike other potential 2008 candidates, Clinton enters the race with a reputation as a divisive figure that may handicap her efforts to persuade voters she can bring the country together and end more than a decade of partisan acrimony.

That doesn’t mean she can’t overcome that perception and win the 2008 race. She remains the front-runner in Democratic polls, will be able to raise enormous amounts of money and would run in what might be a good Democratic year.

But the strong feelings she inspires will be a factor, possibly in the Democratic primaries and certainly in the general election.

Clearly, efforts like the one led by Collins are designed to strengthen those negative perceptions. But in fact, it doesn’t take much to uncover enmity out there.

Recently, Susan Page (to whom I’m married) appeared on C-SPAN to discuss 2008 prospects from both parties. During the 45-minute program, nearly half of the callers volunteered negative comments about Clinton.

They questioned her experience, especially in dealing with military matters, and whether her years in the spotlight meant she has already undergone the scrutiny presidential aspirants face.

“Give me a break,” scoffed a caller from Trumbull, Conn.

Another said that, if Clinton won the White House, she’d really be the vice president while her husband, former President Bill Clinton, ran the country.

And a caller from Fairfax, Va., cited the passions she stirs.

“The swift-boating of John Kerry is going to pale compared to what she’s going to go through if the Democratic Party is dumb enough to nominate her,” he said, referring to the accusations by some Vietnam veterans against the 2004 Democratic nominee.

Unfortunately for Clinton, that last caller may be right. Certainly, Collins’ goal is to make her look as unappealing as possible.

And her foes may benefit from the fact that, according to polls, the public is far more divided on Clinton than on other potential candidates.

Three polls taken around the November elections show those with a favorable view of her outnumbering those with an unfavorable view by a slim 5-to-4 margin. Of course, many of the latter might not vote for any Democrat.

But the same polls show that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., an early GOP favorite, has a favorable-to-unfavorable ratio of better than 2-to-1. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has an even bigger positive margin, though he is far less well known than Clinton or McCain.

One factor is that more people have formed firm opinions about Clinton.

But Obama made clear on a recent visit to New Hampshire that, if he runs, he’ll stress the need for unity and togetherness that was a hallmark of his speeches at the 2004 Democratic Convention and a recent AIDS conference in Chicago – and in his best-selling book.

His subtext, obviously, would be that he could unite the country better than Clinton.

To a degree, the perception that she is a divisive figure is one of those somewhat misleading stereotypes. While both Clintons stir strong reactions, both pro and con, she has gone out of her way in the Senate to seek common ground.

She’s worked closely on legislative issues with top Republicans such as former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. She’s urged fellow Democrats to reach out to foes of legalized abortion by stressing where they agree.

Among Democrats, she is sometimes faulted for being too cautious.

In the end, however, a key to whether she can win may be how well she convinces Americans she would be more unifying than divisive.

Carl P. Leubsdorf is Washington bureau chief of The Dallas Morning News.