It's subscription only, but today's Opinionjournal's Political Diary contains a Tom Bevan item on the latest Gallup poll. Writes Bevan:
Even Barack Obama, who has the highest favorable ratings of any candidate in the field, is apparently not immune. Last week Mr. Obama announced that his campaign was entering a 'new phase,' which many noted was characterized by stepped up attacks on Hillary Clinton. Mr. Obama's unfavorable rating in the latest Gallup poll is up five points in ten days. Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton continues to enjoy the benefits of being a clear frontrunner, portraying herself as above the partisan mudslinging. It may not be coincidence, then, that Mrs. Clinton was the only person surveyed - with the exception of Al Gore who was in the news for some reason - whose unfavorable rating did not increase in the Gallup poll. To the contrary, Mrs. Clinton's favorable rating ticked up two points to 53 percent and is now the highest it's been since May, while her unfavorable rating is the lowest recorded by Gallup since March.
As Bevan points out, Sen. Clinton's unfavorable rating remains in the forties, which is "well above any other candidate's." Still, what's interesting here is that almost everyone knows who Hillary Clinton is, almost everyone has an opinion of Hillary Clinton, and a slight majority of people have a favorable view of her, at least at the moment. Clinton is a polarizing figure, so it's unlikely that over time those numbers will vary much. Of which other candidate can that be said?