Two possible reasons for all the vitriol this primary season:

1. In past elections, a lot of us have supported candidates who dropped out before our state primaries. Just once, we'd like to vote for our first choice.

2. Bush has torn the government to shreds. It is absolutely vital that a Democrat gets in in 2008. We've all picked the one or two candidates that we think could win. Every single candidate including my favorite could be the target of dirty tricks and Republican trash talk. All of us figure that our candidate can fight back, but we see the others going down in flames.

In 2004, many of us went along with a "compromise" candidate for reasons of a supposed electability and an 'anybody but bush' aversion to another four years of gangster criminality.
We were force fed this meme by "advisors" and "very serious" people. By the time most of us got a chance to vote on it, our votes no longer counted. We had only the choices of protest or confirmation. Inevitability is not something that most progressives or liberals accept with equanimity.

Many of us hope for an obvious and unambiguous departure from current policies and a sweeping cleanup of the entrenched criminality--as well as a cleanup of the "inevitability police" --extant among the government and corporate masters.
That departure does not look nearly as likely with an "establishment" candidate, so the pressure to create a campaign that includes a leader who is not so pro-establishment is huge.

here on DU reflected in the general population.

Citizens are concerned.
They are paying attention.
They want change.
But, they are not nasty.

I do have to say though, that I have heard some real life comments about HRC that are pretty vitrolic, but then my family follows politics instead of folowing sports!

Hillary's positions on vital issues

over the edge and do not want anything to do with anything remotely resembling these last years!
So I don't think it's vitriol but instead fear and anger and the dire need for 'real' change!
The truth isn't always pretty or described with the use of 'nice' adjectives.

Not to mention that questions about a candidate get pounced on instead of considered. We should be kicking the tires during primary season. We won't be giving weapons to the Republicans, believe me, they already have them in hand. What we will do is figure out if the weapons are effective. So if a question is raised about your candidate, think how you would answer it in the general election instead of shooting down another Democrat.