Hillary's heaviest baggage, say many observers, is her husband Bill, who has sorely tried the public's patience with his sex scandals and impeachment crisis. Policy differences are also emerging between the two and may make for more awkward moments in the run-up to the 2000 elections.

Ironically, however, Hillary Clinton's ratings peaked shortly after her husband admitted to an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Many Americans apparently saw her as a strong woman and a good mother.

Distancing herself further from the President on policy, therefore, may not hurt the First Lady at the polls. Indeed, the President and his wife will be leagues apart physically when she announces her ``exploratory committee'' in New York on Tuesday for a possible challenge against Republican New York MayorRudolf Giuliani. That day, the President will be touring the southern US states pitching his economic policies, but his spokesman Jake Siewart insisted he would be with his wife in spirit. Setting up an exploratory committee will allow Clinton to collect campaign contributions for such purposes, but that is unlikely to silence the wagging tongues of critics who have dogged her more than any First Lady in US history.

Since she moved to Washington, the once high-priced lawyer has been at the heart of the scandals known as Whitewater, Travelgate and Filegate. She also offended housewives early on by saying she had chosen a career instead of ``staying home and baking cookies''. She is being denounced as a ``carpet-bagger'' who is running for office in a state in which she has never lived and campaigning on issues she couldn't possibly understand.And on Thursday, the First Lady met with a group of New York Labor and political leaders who oppose the President's policies for reforming the medical assistanceprogram for the elderly known as Medicare.

The President, however, said differences among politicians -- even those married to each other -- are to be expected. ``Some of the disagreements that we've had in the past over decisions I've made as President, she may be constrained to state publicly because they'll be relevant to the future. And that's the way democracy works,'' he said during a press conference.``It would be a dreary world if we all agreed on everything,'' added the President, who has been rumored to be eyeing a Senate race of his own back home in Arkansas.

But such problems on the home front may be nothing compared to the nasty battle Giuliani is expected to wage. The Mayor already has a hyperlink called ``Hillary No!'' which features an unflattering shot of the First Lady and plenty of information on her controversial doings. Giuliani also torpedoed plans for the launch party of a new magazine amid reports that Hillary was to be its first cover girl.

A poll released on Wednesday showedHillary edging out Giuliani 46-44, the first time she has been neck-and-neck with the Mayor. In New York City, Hillary maintains a lead at 63 per cent versus 29 per cent. But the Mayor has a big edge over Hillary in the rest of the state.