A recent poll shows that Hillary Clinton now has a 43% approval rating vrs. a 41% disapproval rating, This is just one poll, so people should not provide too much credence to it, but it is a data point:
A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is providing a reality check for Hillary Clinton, who previously boasted robust public approval ratings.
According to the survey, 43% of registered voters have a positive view of the former secretary of state and first lady, while 41% have a negative opinion.
That marks a considerable decline from her February 2009 numbers, as she began her four-year stint as secretary of state. Then she recorded 59% positive to 22% negative.
bbcnews
What happened? Republicans who liked to compare the good Democrat Clinton (white) favorably to President Obama (black) have decided that Clinton is a Democrat and deserving of hatred and scorn:
A closer look at the numbers indicates that the bulk of Mrs Clinton's decline can be attributed to Republicans whose views of her have dimmed. Her disapproval rating among conservatives has jumped from 52% in 2009 to 70% today.
It's all about one's frame of reference. When compared to President Barack Obama, Mrs Clinton may seem appealing to conservatives. But standing on her own, as a potential standard-bearer for the Democrats, she takes on all the political baggage and negative connotations of her party.
bbcnews
She never was going to get Republican votes anyway.
Hillary Clinton still is stronger than Republican candidates, though:
Mrs Clinton's potential Republican opponents should refrain from taking too much joy at the survey results, however. Leading contenders like former GOP nominee Mitt Romney, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul all have net-negative approval numbers.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio comes the closest to positive among the minority of respondents who have an opinion of him, with a 21%-21% split.
bbcnews
Secretary Clinton still may be the strongest Democratic candidate and would still be a favorite to win the presidency in 2016. But we all remember "inevitability." It is in her interest and all Democrats interest that she win a contested nomination, that she earn the nomination.
She needs a contest, not a coronation. Clinton's strongest political showing was in the spring of 2008 when she was fighting Obama and winning primaries. She became a much better candidate.
Whether it's Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Martin O'Malley, or all of them who challenge her, we need a contest in the primaries. That's how Democrats win in 2016.