Hillary Clinton tops Obama in popularity poll

• Tweet

A Quinnipiac University poll released Friday found the former secretary of state is the most popular national political figure. Clinton's favorability rating of 61 percent topped Obama's 51 percent. The telephone poll was conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 4, as Clinton was leaving her job. Pollsters surveyed 1,772 registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

Clinton, who was first lady and senator from New York before her stint as secretary of state, has been touted as a possible presidential candidate in 2016, and her popularity supports the possibility. Although she claims no intention of running for president, Clinton recently launched a vague new website so people "can reach her."

The poll also showed that Clinton was viewed more favorably than other presidential possibilities, including Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee.

Clinton, is “easily the most popular actor on the American political stage today,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac polling institute in Hamden, Connecticut. She attracted more support than Obama from independents and Republicans, Brown said.

The Quinnipiac poll showed Obama’s job-approval rating dropped to 46 percent, with 45 percent disapproving. “Once the election afterglow is gone, governing inevitably requires decisions that make some voters unhappy,” Brown said.