My must read of the day is "Hillary’s No Slam Dunk in 2016," by Larry Sabato in Politico:
For now, Clinton looks indestructible to many, leading Time magazine to ask in a recent cover story—complete with a navy pantsuit and polished black heel crushing, presumably, the presidential dreams of any putative rival—"Can Anyone Stop Hillary?" The answer could be as simple as her husband. Bill has been involved in myriad business and charitable activities since leaving office, and it’s conceivable that there are worse imperfections in his recent past than the money maneuverings of Doug Band, his longtime close aide.
It is too soon to know for sure who would run against Hillary Clinton, but modern history certainly suggests there will be a field of three or four. From 1948 to 2012, the average number of Democratic presidential candidates was about 3.5, once very minor and favorite-son candidacies are discarded.
Hillary Clinton is the most formidable candidate Democrats have. She seems indestructible because she has the loudest support, but of course there are plenty of issues that could throw off a candidate’s presidential aspirations.
One that Sabato doesn’t touch on in this piece that I believe could be a problem for Clinton is Benghazi.
Republicans have been pressing on Benghazi since 2012. They’ll make sure it’s an issue she has to explain in 2016, and explaining it won’t be easy.
When I say that, many people will disagree. They say that Benghazi is an issue people who were going to vote for Clinton don’t care about, and the ones who do care weren’t ever going to vote for her.
True, but it’s the lying that has the potential to become a character issue that could hurt Clinton with swing voters.
Clinton was in a position to increase security at the consulate so as to prevent the attack in Benghazi, and there is mounting evidence that administration officials knew it was a terror attack from the onset but still pushed the narrative of a video. Clinton also pushed that narrative, when she likely knew it was false. That won’t be seen as an "excusable" lie, and it could make her vulnerable among independents.