DURHAM - Karl Rove, the former White House strategist, said New York Sen. Hillary Clinton might have a more difficult time getting elected president than many people realize.

Appearing before a raucous Duke University audience, Rove said public opinion polls suggest that if Clinton captures the Democratic nomination, she will have a difficult time defeating the Republican nominee, even though she is far better known.

If voters want change, Rove said, Clinton may not be the best spokeswoman.

"For Senator Clinton, it's difficult to make the argument for change when she wants to go back to the '90s," Rove told more than 1,000 students at Page Auditorium.

Rove, who left the White House in August, had been the principal political strategist for President George W. Bush throughout his political career. He spent the bulk of his nearly 90-minute talk defending the Bush years, including the war in Iraq.

Most students were polite, but Rove was frequently interrupted by members of the audience who shouted "liar" or who accused the administration of sanctioning terror. He also was applauded at times, especially when he discussed the sacrifices of those serving in Iraq.

Rove seemed unrattled through the evening, although he dismissed one hostile questioner as a "kook."

"You're a murderer," someone shouted.

"I don't like to be slandered," Rove shot back.

He denied that the U.S. sanctioned torture of terrorism suspects. He noted that when abuses occurred in Abu Ghraib prison, they were exposed and corrected.

"Torture is not acceptable," Rove said. "We don't torture."

Rove suggested there was a broad consensus to go to war in Iraq, including by key Democratic leaders. He said the world is better off with the removal of both the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, both of which were responsible for human rights abuses.

"The United States has nothing to apologize for in its conduct in the world," Rove said

On politics, Rove said the country is evenly divided and it was too early to determine which party would win in 2008. He noted that in the 2000, 2002 and 2004 elections, Republicans did better than expected.

He attributed the Republican defeats in November to scandals involving Republicans, not to the war in Iraq.

"The number-one issue that cost us the election was corruption," Rove said.

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