Hillary Clinton leads GOP presidential candidates, poll says

From USA Today

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

People can’t help but wonder what might happen if Hillary Rodham Clinton ran again for president.

A new Time magazine poll shows Clinton easily defeating the major Republican candidates, were she somehow to become the 2012 Democratic nominee for president.

Clinton leads Mitt Romney, 55% to 38%; Rick Perry, 58% to 32%; and Herman Cain, 56% to 34%, among likely voters in a general election.

(Time magazine notes, “The same poll found that President Obama would edge Romney by just 46% to 43%, Perry by 50% to 38% and Cain by 49% to 37% among likely voters.” Clinton’s leads are bigger.)

Of course, it’s easier to be popular when you’re a global diplomat rather than a down-in-the-pit politician.

Clinton — who lost the 2008 nomination fight to Obama — says she has no interest in another White House run.

But there’s always the 2016 election …