New polls fuel speculation about Hillary Clinton in 2016
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Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn鈥檛 decided whether to run for president in 2016. Even if she does, she may not make it official for some time. But Mrs. Clinton is already becoming something of a campaign juggernaut.
Two new polls out this week highlight just how formidable a candidate Clinton might be.聽According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, 57 percent of all Americans would support Hillary Clinton for president 鈥 including 66 percent of all women. She even wins support among 23 percent of Republicans.
Likewise, a Siena College poll of New Yorkers released Wednesday found a 75 percent approval rating for Clinton 鈥 her highest ever in that poll 鈥 with 54 percent saying they wanted her to run for president. (Thirty-nine percent said they want the state鈥檚 governor, Andrew Cuomo 鈥 another rumored 2016 hopeful 鈥 to take the plunge).
Obviously, it鈥檚 very, very early, and presidential polls this far out are admittedly pretty meaningless, largely reflecting name recognition. And there鈥檚 no question that much of the warmth surrounding Clinton these days stems from her nonpartisan role as secretary of State, for which she wins plaudits from Democrats and Republicans alike (The ABC/Post poll found 40 percent of Republicans approved of the job she鈥檚 done at State). Were she to become an actual candidate again, that bipartisan goodwill could quickly fade.
Still, the combination of Clinton鈥檚 strong personal appeal and starpower, along with her still-active network of fundraisers and supporters, could easily clear the Democratic field.
As Washington remains mired in the slow-moving, eat-your-broccoli "fiscal cliff" negotiations, it's clear that speculation about Clinton鈥檚 future has become the capital鈥檚 most entertaining subplot.
She got a brief round of attention over the weekend for an instantly viral photo of her and actress Meryl Streep taking pictures of themselves together on Streep鈥檚 iPhone at the Kennedy Center Honors gala (ABC News called it the 鈥減icture of the night鈥). It was yet another item from the Hillary-Clinton-is-a-real-person file 鈥 for which the media seem to have an insatiable appetite 鈥 highlighting Clinton's fun side.
Even more buzzed-about was the slick video tribute shown at the Saban Forum, a Middle East conference. The film featured gushing praise for Clinton from current and former world leaders, from Benjamin Netanyahu to Tony Blair. As New Yorker editor David Remnick wrote, titled 鈥淗illary Clinton is running for president鈥: 鈥淭he film was like an international endorsement four years in advance of the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire 辫谤颈尘补谤测.鈥
Watching it, we were struck by the effort to portray Clinton as a Margaret Thatcher type of leader 鈥 a woman with a backbone of steel who鈥檚 not afraid to take on thorny challenges. Mr. Blair highlighted her 鈥渟trength and toughness.鈥 Mr. Netanyahu called her 鈥渟trong and determined.鈥 Her former Senate colleague John McCain noted, 鈥渟he has a smile, she鈥檚 friendly 鈥 and yet, beneath that friendship is a person with very firm convictions.鈥
In some ways, the video was so heavy-handed 鈥 the soundtrack featured Bruno Mars crooning 鈥測ou鈥檙e amazing 鈥 just the way you are鈥 in the background 鈥搕hat it came across as an almost deliberate attempt to tweak reporters. It even featured a 鈥渨ink, wink鈥 kind of ending, with Netanyahu saying, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e heard the last of Hillary Clinton,鈥 and with Blair adding, 鈥淚 just have an instinct that the best is yet to come.鈥
She may, indeed, be preparing to run. Or she may just be toying with us. Either way, she seems to be having fun.