Guardian: Hillary Clinton in pole position for US presidency as Republicans veer off course [View all]

[OKNancy]

Hillary Clinton in pole position for US presidency as Republicans veer off course

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/08/republicans-veer-off-course-hillary-clinton-in-pole-position-obama-us-presidential-elections

(snip)
t the outset of the race the position of the two parties couldn’t be more divergent – Republicans have no clear frontrunner, no candidate of presidential stature and continued intra-party pressure to move even further and further to the far right. Democrats, on the other hand, are united in a way they have rarely been in the past. Clinton is the direct beneficiary of this harmony.

While it is entirely possible that another Democratic aspirant will enter the race between now and the first presidential caucus next January, it is difficult to imagine any scenario in which he or she would supplant her as the party nominee.

Clinton enjoys the support of 50-60% of Democrats, 40-plus points higher than the vice-president, Joe Biden. Liberal darling Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who has said repeatedly that she will not run, is a touch lower in the polls, and the long-shot candidates, former Virginia senator Jim Webb, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley are all mired in the single digits.

Clinton’s strong numbers are, in part, a function of her name recognition, but make no mistake it’s also a product of her popularity within the Democratic party.

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