Clinton: 'That was my last race'

[zipplewrath]

45. Dubious

She'll definitely be remembered. Her time as First Lady alone is going to be a type that will carry her name for a long time. She'll probably be among the top 5 First ladies of history for a long time. But political history especially isn't "kind" to people that lose. There will be a decade or more of critique of her campaign and career in general. Even in the out decades, when history becomes vastly less partisan, she'll at best be in the category of past political female giants like Tubman, Stowe, Roosevelt, etc. Not exactly a bad place to be either. And for what it's worth, Franklin and MLK, along with Hamilton would rank "above" most presidents. Precious few that would exceed them. I'd add more to that list as well to include Thurgood Marshall and George C Marshall as well. In reality, there are probably more "higher ranking" non-presidents, than there are actual presidents.

It is notable the people that were extremely popular immediately after they left the public sphere, only to diminish greatly over time. Custer, Grant, MacArthur, and Jackson immediately come to mind. A few do jump to mind that did sort of the reverse. Truman probably got more appreciated over time. Carter too, he turned out to be prescient on many issues, by decades. Hoover is definitely better understood than in his time, although to be honest he had virtually nowhere to go but up.