Until then, I see her as liable to going the way of Al Gore, killed by "inevitability" and perceived pretentiousness. Heck Bernie Sanders and O'Malley may as well be the next Bill Bradley.
Actually Gore was trailing by double digits for much of 1998 and 1999, and he ended up with the most votes. In June 1999, Fox had a poll with Bush up 60-28.
Hillary is more like Bush than like Gore in that scenario. The inevitable candidate the whole party coalesces around with high ratings who stumbles out of the gate.
