Hillary Is Popular With Most Americans

There are a whole lot of Democrats and other progressives who would like to see Hillary Clinton run for president in 2016. I have to admit I wouldn't mind seeing that happen myself. But Hillary says she's not running. She has repeatedly said the she will probably resign as Secretary of State after President Obama is re-elected (which is a shame because she has been great in that job), and that she has no interest in running for president four years from now.

But it's not hard to see why Democrats would want her to run. The Gallup Poll has been conducting a favorability poll on Ms. Clinton since she became First Lady in 1992, and since she became Secretary of State her favorability rating has risen. For the last two years, the Gallup Poll shows her favorable rating to be 66% -- meaning about two out of three Americans has a favorable opinion of Hillary. Only 29% say they have an unfavorable opinion of her.

It's not surprising that her popularity is strongest among Democrats, who give her a 91% favorable rating. But a significant portion of Independents and Republicans also have a favorable opinion of her -- with 65% of Independents viewing her favorably (more than 6 out of 10), and 41% of Republicans giving her a favorable rating (more than 4 out of 10).

It's also easy to see why the Republicans love to hear Hillary say she is not not going to run in 2016. The thought of her running against any of their right-wing nut-jobs ought to scare the hell out of them (and right-wing nut-jobs seems to be all they have left in their party). I have to admit the thought of Hillary running against Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachman (or any of their other candidates) brings a smile to my face.

I doubt she'll change her mind about running in 2016. But we can always hope.