This was a notable feature both of the New York Clinton and, later, of the pre-#Benghazi secretary of state: She had done an effective, focused job of courting Republican allies.

“She is a surprisingly good politician who people on both sides of the aisle have a respect for her and they like her,” Ryan said, recalling that when the son of her archenemy, state Conservative Party leader Mike Long, was badly injured, she was among the first to call.

Today Clinton has a reserve of goodwill among a generation of Republican figures that can come as a surprise in the ultra-polarized world of national politics — and it’s something that she will surely deploy if she wins the Democratic nomination. Who better to repel a searing Republican attack than a respected Republican ally? And the Clintons have assiduously, over the years, worked on a very high level with key Republicans — George W. Bush among them. (It’s interesting to think about where the Bushes will be if Jeb doesn’t get the nomination.)

Indeed, Clinton’s Republican Senate colleagues remember her fondly. And then there are people like conservative journalist Christopher Ruddy, a former leader of the anti-Hillary brigades. He recently pledged to donate $1 million to the Clinton Global Initiative.