McGrath, as far as the Senator thing, you're right; establish residency, get the voters to back you, and you're in. Typically, complaints about "carpetbaggers" have a partisan tone; Republicans complain about Democrats from out of state, and Democrats complain about Republicans. But the rules are the rules, and I'm not aware of any non-partisan groundswell to change the rules across the board.

As for why people don't like Hillary, I think there are a lot of reasons. Some people resented how she was given (and assumed ) leadership on health care reform during the first Clinton term, even though she was not elected, and didn't go through any confirmation process (as Cabinet officers do). Some people resented the fact that she had used her maiden name after marriage; some resented her comments about how she "didn't stay home and bake cookies" after she got married (taking this as a slap at those women who chose to be homemakers and stay-at-home mothers). Fans of Tammy Wynette resented her flip reference to how she was not "some Tammy Wynette 'stand by your man' type". A lot of people, whether they will admit it or not, disliked the fact that she was a successful professional woman, and did not apologize for it. And all this took shape during some fairly profound shifts in public opinion towards the reactionary right (the rise of Newt Gingrich, the "Contract With America," Rush Limbaugh, etc.).

Beyond that, when you come right down to it, likability is subjective, and a lot of people just don't get a warm glow from Hillary. She does sometimes come off as cold, abrasive, and -- most of all -- phony. Why this is so is something of a mystery, but that is true about a lot of people; sometimes we just can't put into words what it is about a person that bugs us. But the fact is that, if enough people don't like you, you'll never get to be President. In fact, if you look back at the last several Presidential elections in this country (going back as far as 1980, anyway), the guy who won was always the guy that the most people, given a choice, would prefer to have a beer with. Like it or not, that's just the way it is.