SWEET REVENGE, OR NON-SWEET REVENGE - AT 8:33 P.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton isn't known as the queen of sweetness.  But she must be feeling mighty royal today, after a poll showed her far more popular than her boss:

A new poll of avid news watchers shows that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a much higher approval rating than the man she once campaigned against and now works for, President Barack Obama.

In the poll of 800 registered voters who are self-identified “news watchers,” Clinton had a 75 percent approval rating and a 21 percent disapproval rating overall. Obama, in contrast, had a 51 percent approval and a 45 percent disapproval rating.

The Secretary of State has conducted several well-received foreign trips in recent months and has not been as closely identified with the more contentious elements of the Administration’s agenda, including the health care fight, the federal deficit and the Wall Street bailouts. And she has not been subjected to nearly the same media and partisan scrutiny as the president. Obama, meanwhile, has been on national television on a daily basis tackling a wide range of difficult issues.

The poll was conducted by the nonpartisan Clarus Research Group from December 7th to the 12th, and it asked for opinions of the top Cabinet secretaries and White House officials. Its finding on Obama and Clinton mirrors that of earlier polls – in October, for example, a Gallup poll found that Clinton had become more popular than the president.

And...

The next highest-rated cabinet secretary in the survey was Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who notched a 69 percent overall approval rate with a 78 percent approval among Democrats and 63 percent among both Republicans and independents.

COMMENT:  I think the analysis in this well-written story is correct, that Clinton hasn't been associated with the controversial elements of Obama's agenda - like the health-care package.  In addition, she projects a tougher image than the president, which doesn't hurt in foreign affairs.

At the same time, a note of caution:  This poll was taken among news junkies.  Those without the addiction may feel differently.

But if more general polling shows the same result, Clinton can be an excellent political position.  Obama's political operatives may, for example, suggest that she replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket in 2012.  They might see her as an electoral asset, which Biden is not, and she might see the move as setting her up for a presidental run in 2016, when she'll only be 68.

December 16, 2009