To Anthony Conti, it is all about the earrings.

As a New Hampshire Republican, Conti has plenty of reasons not to like Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner.

"She scares me," he said prior to a Mitt Romney campaign event in Manchester, N.H., this week.

But, as a jeweler, Clinton's earrings are just too much for Conti to bear.

Conti said he met Clinton on the campaign trail and she was wearing eight-carat tanzanite earrings. The earrings are so big, he said, "she can't possibly relate to the working man."

On the other hand, Ann Romney, the candidate's wife, wears expensive, but tasteful pearls.

Conti approves.

People have all kinds of reasons for liking or disliking a candidate. The reasons are often highly personal and subjective, especially in a state like New Hampshire, where a disproportionate share of voters meet presidential candidates in person.

But, the subjectivity is extreme in the case of Clinton.

A recent Gallup poll found her to be the most admired woman in America for the sixth consecutive year.

Yet, polls also show she is a highly polarizing figure and many people outright hate her.

Polls give her good marks on issues, but she has the highest negative ratings of any candidate.

Fox News, knowing its viewers are overwhelmingly conservative, feeds on the anti-Clinton feelings.

Its news reports always seem to pick the ugliest photos of her to go with the reports. One anchorwoman on Fox recently said when she thinks of Clinton she thinks of a witch flying around on a broom. Of course, Fox is the "fair and balanced network." Imagine what an unfair and unbalanced anchorwoman would say.

Supporters admire Clinton for her intelligence, outspokenness and her role as the first serious woman candidate for president. Critics consider her untrustworthy, manipulative and blind with ambition.

There is also the lingering question of a woman's role in society.

Clinton has always been a career woman. She used her former role as first lady to advance policies and hire government officials, rather than do charity work and speak on noncontroversial issues like literacy.

After Conti and other Republicans told a reporter how much they dislike Clinton, they listened approvingly as Mitt and Ann Romney spoke about her more traditional role as the one who stayed home and raised the children while he worked.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry was among the loudest critics of the NFL when it planned to restrict the telecast of tonight's New England Patriots game to the NFL Network, which few fans subscribe to.

So Kerry was quick to claim victory when the league reversed field and decided to allow the game to be shown free on NBC and CBS.

"The best news of all is that now no diehard Pats fans will be shut out from watching their team take aim at football history. I want to commend NFL executives for delivering for fans everywhere. What a great gift the day after Christmas," Kerry said.

JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. His commentaries appear in this space on Saturdays. Contact him at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.