[LexBaird]

By that line of thinking one could rationalize Hillary Clinton as Conservative.

No, you can't, because when you specify a relative term, there is always either an explicit or an implicit scale. If I say "Today is cold", it is implicit that I am comparing it to the norm. Unless you specify that you are comparing Hillary to Che Guevarra or some other nontypical "norm", the assumption is for American politicians, the class to which she belongs.

Duncan Hunter is a bleeding heart liberal and radical libertine ... compared to Sheik Omar of the Taliban.

[Man50D]

No, you can't, because when you specify a relative term, there is always either an explicit or an implicit scale.

Whose scale is used and what are the criteria? There is no standard scale set in writing that all agree defines Conservatism. This thread wouldn't have been posted if there was one standard scale. What is implicit or explicit to one person will not necessarily be so to another and once again it reverts back to a gray area that is undefinable and very subjective. In the end everyone has their own scale without any definition.