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WASHINGTON Two days after the 2006 midterms -- what would have been yesterday, in other words -- Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack officially announcedhis run for the 2008 presidential election. He filed the necessary documents with the Federal Election Commission, opened an office and got up a website.

The 2016 candidates are already behind schedule.

With the 2014 midterms done, the political world is prepping for the next presidential campaign. There are likely to be some surprise candidates, some Vilsacks hoping the odds will somehow break in their favor. But there are already heavy-betting favorites, of which the heaviest is Hillary Clinton.

It's virtually certain that Clinton will run, and the Democrats' shellacking in the midterms only makes her more attractive to a demoralized party looking to unite around a star. "America needs Hillary's leadership," said an email sent Wednesday by the Ready for Hillary superPAC. She has said she willwait until the endof the year before announcing. Butsupporters arguethat she might as well jump in, since she's already under a media microscope. With a campaign structure and staff in place, she might be better equipped to respond to attacks. And why keep playing coy?

Deciding when to announce is a complicated calculation for any candidate. Clinton doesn't need to start early to be able to raise big bucks. Fundraising should come easy to her. She is already well-known in early contest states like Iowa and New Hampshire. As the front-runner from the start, she will be able to lock up experienced staff; some of Obama's team have already agreed to work for her. Her aides are reportedly considering headquartering her campaign in White Plains, N.Y.

"Those who are urging her to start running now are those who think she has to respond to every attack or allegation or question from a reporter," Democratic strategist Donna Brazile told CNN. "She does not. She has the luxury of time. She can focus on what kind of candidate she wants to be."

To develop a focus for her campaign theme, Clinton might do the kind of "listening tour" she used to kick off her Senate campaign.

Most politicians start with exploratory committees before becoming full-fledged candidates. This allows them to raise money and conduct polls without having to file disclosures or deal with the attention of launching a full campaign. But for someone like Clinton, being all-in can offer benefits like more room on spending.

At this point, Clinton has little real competition, although she isn't likely to repeat the mistakes of 2008 when she ran as "inevitable" -- until a little-known Illinois senator defeated her in Iowa. That defeat may push her to declare sooner rather than later: It would be damaging to lose Iowa yet again, and the state's caucus-goers are famous for expecting to meet all the candidates in person -- more than once -- in their living rooms and community events. She'll need to spend plenty of time there. And once candidates announce, they can begin to recruit regional captains and attend more events.

Vice President Joe Biden isn't expected to run as long as Clinton is in the race. Lesser-known Democrats will jump in, some of them hoping to boost their national profile or position themselves as a potential Clinton running mate. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer have hinted they could run. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has also talked about a campaign, possibly taking a page from 2012 GOP candidate Ron Paul, who had little expectation of winning but helped shape the policy discussions in the campaign.

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Presidential Election 2016: When Will Hillary Clinton Announce? Dem, GOP Candidates Who May Run

She is the leading global voice championing the empowerment of girls and women, but of the eight Democratic women Hillary Clinton stumped for in the 2014 midterm cycle, only one was declared a winner.

She is the prospective frontrunner for her partys presidential nomination in 2016, but of the 26 Democrats Clinton campaigned for in the midterms, 12 won, 13 lost, and one Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana lingers in uncertainty, facing a Dec. 6 runoff election against her Republican opponent.

This cycle marked Hillary Clintons return to the arena of electoral politics for the first time since her failed presidential bid in 2008 secretaries of state traditionally abstain from partisan activity and for those scouring the newly refashioned landscape for indications of how Clintons White House prospects may be affected, the results are decidedly mixed.

Supporters of the former secretary of state argue that, despite having eschewed the rough and tumble of politics for six years, she used her time on the stump this fall to good effect, forging new and strong ties with local party chieftains in states where such connections will prove valuable to a presidential run in two years.

I think Hillary Clinton did yeoman's work in campaigning out there for Democrats, said Patti Solis Doyle, a former Clinton campaign manager in 2008, in an interview with Fox News. She did what she could to help her friends, and very strong Democrats out there. She raised money for them; she campaigned for them.

Solis Doyle emphasized that neither Clintons name nor her policies were on the ballot on Tuesday but that hasnt stopped some of her potential rivals from spreading the word that the big GOP gains marked a major setback for her aspirations. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the GOPs 2012 vice presidential nominee, told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that Tuesdays verdict tells you that shes not inevitable. I think shes very beatable.

More pointed was Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who took to Twitter with unabashed glee to brand the 13 unsuccessful candidates Clinton stumped for Hillarys Losers. The 1990s was a long time ago, Paul said on Fox and Friends on Friday morning. I don't think there is such a Clinton cachet as there once was. ... There is a message here about Hillary Clinton as much as there is a message about the president.

Doug Schoen, a former pollster for President Clinton, dismissed Sen. Pauls suggestions that Mrs. Clinton remains, in the public imagination, tied at the hip to the unpopular incumbent in the White House. This election was a repudiation, first and foremost, as every Republican I've heard say, of President Obama, Schoen said on Fox News' Happening Now on Wednesday. I think that the Clinton brand is separate and distinct from President Obama. I don't think this has an appreciable impact on her fortunes and future.

With long memories of the central role that Florida and Ohio have played in recent presidential contests, Clinton and her Democratic colleagues cannot have looked favorably upon the Republicans success on Tuesday in holding onto the governors mansions in those critical battleground states. Some have argued that she will benefit from the GOP wave by being able to run against the GOP Congress.

Yet in the actual business of campaigning the deployment of rhetoric and charisma to sway persuadable hearts and minds Clintons performance again left some feeling as though she has still not worked out the kinks on display in her rocky book tour this spring. Perhaps Clintons most memorable statement as a surrogate speaker during this cycle was her assertion, during an Oct. 24 appearance in Boston on behalf of (doomed) Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Martha Coakley: Dont let anybody tell you that its corporations and businesses that create jobs.

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CLINTON CONCERNS GOP's gains pose obstacle for Hilary's WH push

The midterm election Tuesday was a debacle for the Democratic Party, but for Hillary Clinton the results arent so clear-cut.

Here are five ways the elections helped Mrs. Clinton, and five ways they hurt.

Why they helped:

(1)From the wreckage of the election, many Democrats are now looking to Mrs. Clinton to rebuild the party and remind the rank-and-file that a big prize is still within reach: retaining the White House. President Barack Obama remains the titular head of the party, but hes badly wounded. His approval ratings have sagged to historic lows and he has lost his governing majority in Congress. In Mrs. Clinton, a demoralized party may see the possibility of better days ahead. Speaking the day after the election, Alan Kessler, a longtime Democratic fundraiser, said: I will tell you now, today, on a very gloomy morning, thats what people see as a glimmer of hope.

(2) The election was less a repudiation of the Washington establishment than a rejection of Washington gridlock. After all, voters reelected the ultimate Washington insider: Kentucky Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who got to the Senate 30 years ago. That might bode well for Mrs. Clinton. She can position herself as an antidote to Washington dysfunction, playing up her experience as a former senator and top diplomat who knows how to reach consensus. Some of her supporters believe the target of voter anger was not Democratic policies or politicians, but Mr. Obama.

The disenchantment we saw in the election is a disenchantment with Obama, said Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a Clinton supporter and Democratic donor, and outspoken critic of Mr. Obama. Its not about his policies raising the minimum wage or mainstream Democratic policies that Hillary supports. Voters are fed up with the arrogance and incompetence that Obama has demonstrated in office. Whatever the Republicans say about Hillary, they cant say those two things about her.

(3) The damage was so sweeping that Democrats may be more inclined to coalesce behind a Hillary Clinton candidacy. Democrats lost the House in 2010 and the Senate on Tuesday. Losing the White House in 2016 would be an unwelcome trifecta. Rather than endure a contested primary season in which Mrs. Clinton is forced to spend money and political capital securing the nomination, the party may be more inclined to unite behind her and give her a running start for the general election showdown with the GOP. Democrats went through a version of this in 2004, when the party rejected Vermont Gov. Howard Deans insurgent campaign and instead tapped someone who seemed a safer bet: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. A party that doesnt have the House and Senate becomes a lot more pragmatic about choosing a nominee, because it cant possibly fathom the possibility of losing it all, said Joe Trippi, who worked on Mr. Deans campaign.

(4) Now that Republicans control both the House and Senate, theyre under renewed pressure to show they can govern. Can they pull it off? Will they forge popular compromises with Mr. Obama that create jobs and jumpstart the economic recovery? Or will they use their power to launch investigations that prove embarrassing to Mr. Obama but strike many Americans as a sideshow? If the GOP overreaches, that could be a boon to Mrs. Clinton. She could make the point that the GOP has little to show for their majority status. The Democrats are off the hook in large measure, said Harold Ickes, a senior adviser in Mrs. Clintons 2008 campaign. It will depend now on what the Republicans come up with in Congress.

(5) No one can say Mrs. Clinton didnt do her part to boost the Democratic vote. She attended nearly four dozen fundraising events, rallies and get-out-the-vote drives. Along with her husband she was the main Democratic surrogate in closely contested Senate races that Mr. Obama avoided due to his low popularity. So, Mrs. Clinton campaigned repeatedly for Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky senate candidate who wound up losing big to Mr. McConnell. Its doubtful Mrs. Clinton will face stiff competition for the Democratic nomination. But if its a fight, Mrs. Clinton built some good will with party leaders and activists by sticking her neck out for longshot candidates. She and President Clintons efforts were certainly sought after. And their efforts to support Democratic candidates were deeply appreciated and well received, said Mack McLarty, a former chief of staff in Bill Clintons White House.

Why the elections hurt Mrs. Clinton

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How Democrats Defeats Help and Hurt Hillary Clinton

Ted Cruz thinks Hillary Clinton would beat Jeb Bush
Ted Cruz thinks Hillary Clinton would beat Jeb Bush Sen. Ted Cruz is taking a direct swing at Jeb Bush and in the process exposing the radicalism that the GO...

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Ted Cruz thinks Hillary Clinton would beat Jeb Bush - Video

Editor's note: The following column originally appeared on NewsBusters.com.

One might be able to excuse Democratic spin before the election returns came in. But former Newsweek reporter Andrew Romano offered a real beaut the morning after at Yahoo News, titled How Hillary Clinton won the 2014 midterms."

Many of the candidates that the Clintons backed in this cycle went down to defeat. While Romano isnt denying 2014 was a good year for Republicans, he could not wait to start shaking the pom-poms for how Hillarys path is greased for the White House. This is the article that liberals will want to read after they put their handkerchiefs down:

But heres the thing: In politics, the easy answer isnt always the only answer, and the winner of an election isnt always the one who benefits most. Take a closer look at demography, geography and the road ahead for the parties, and its clear that the long-term winner of the 2014 midterms wasnt the GOP at all. The long-term winner, in fact, wasnt even on the ballot this year.

Her name is Hillary Clinton.

Of course the GOP is celebrating right now, as it should. Any election that ends up putting Republicans into the governors mansions in Illinois and Maryland is worth getting worked up about. But under the surface, almost everything about last nights midterm results and the map, the math and the legislative morass that lies ahead in the run-up to 2016 suggests that the former first lady and secretary of state will have a better next two years than the party currently guzzling champagne.

Which is not to say that Clinton herself will necessarily be an unbeatable candidate. She spent the past two months holding 45 campaign events in 18 hard-fought states, but almost all the big candidates she stumped for lost, from Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky to Bruce Braley in Iowa. Many will say her campaign skills are still rusty and she certainly wont be heading into 2016 with many chits to cash in. But that doesnt change one simple fact: Even a huge GOP victory shows how much catching up the Republican have to do if they want to defeat Hillary in 2016....

In other words, for every Senate seat that Republicans flipped in 2014, theres one or more thats likely to flip back to the Democrats in 2016. The chances that the GOP will still control the upper chamber of Congress after 2016 are slim.

How does this help Clinton? By giving her an added boost on an electoral playing field that already favors a Democratic presidential nominee. In the last six elections, 18 states (plus Washington, D.C.) have voted for the Democratic candidate every single time.

This means that Clinton, assuming shes the nominee, will start out with 242 electoral votes in 2016; shell need only 28 of the remaining 183 tossups to win the election. To defeat her, the Republican candidate will basically have to run the table in the purple states not a game plan with a high probability of success, according to Republican pollsters Glen Bolger and Neil Newhouse. Making matters worse is the fact that Republican senators will already be playing defense in several of these states, attracting additional Democratic attention and resources that will ultimately bolster the candidate at the top of the ticket as well.

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Hillary Clinton won the 2014 midterms? That's what Yahoo ...