It cannot be a Republican realignment, because the GOP has moved so far to the extreme right that it is now far outside the mainstream of American opinion.

While it is true that Hillary Clinton’s huge popularity is partly due to her being removed from partisan politics as secretary of State, there are other powerful messages for both parties in her soaring popularity.

Hillary Clinton represents the brand of the Democratic Party embodied by traditional Democratic presidents in hard economic times. She is identified with the great prosperity of the Bill Clinton presidency. But there are other powerful forces at work:

Hillary Clinton is part of what I once called “The Female Century.” Throughout the nation and around the world there is an epochal movement toward true equality for women.