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Republican panic at the prospect of facing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race has suddenly reached Godzilla-nearing-Tokyo proportions.

The election is more than two years away, and Clinton hasnt even decided whether to run. But none of this seems to matter to the GOP strategists and spinmeisters who are launching the whole arsenal at her smears, innuendo, false charges. Already, theyve moved beyond distorting her record to simply making stuff up.

As these damp squibs clatter harmlessly to the ground, its useful to remember that Clinton has seen it all before. And I mean all . Anyone who thinks shell be rattled or intimidated hasnt been paying attention the past few decades.

If anything, Republicans are succeeding in raising Clintons profile and perhaps making her a more sympathetic figure. This was certainly the impact of Karl Roves smarmy and unfounded recent speculation about her health.

In December 2012, Clinton, ill with a virus, fell in her home and suffered a concussion, spent three days in the hospital, wore corrective glasses briefly for double vision meanwhile going back to work as secretary of state and made what to all appearances was a full recovery.

Rove grossly inflated the episode to 30 days in the hospital and traumatic brain injury. Appearing later on Fox News, he insisted that Clintons health is going to be an issue. The Clinton camp responded that there are no words for this level of lying and gave assurances that Clinton is in perfect health. But Roves intent was clear: Fabricate an issue, toss it out and see if it sticks.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), an all-but-announced candidate for the GOP nomination, was even less subtle, claiming that Clintons term at the State Department was characterized by massive failures. He mentioned her inability to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to behave like a model citizen something that no secretary of state, as I recall, has managed to do. Oh, and he mentioned Benghazi.

Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. ... Get used to that name, because youll hear it a zillion times if Clinton runs. Weve seen from her appearances before Congress, however, that she answers questions about the tragedy forcefully and well. I wouldnt bet my political future on the dubious prospect that shell meekly go away if the Benghazi chant is raised to a din.

Given that Clintons actual record at State is unpromising for Republicans to attack, there is now an effort to foul the atmospherics of her tenure. Most far-fetched is the suggestion that Boko Haram might not have kidnapped those nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls if Clinton had pushed against the advice of diplomats, experts and the Nigerian government to designate the group as a terrorist organization. There is no basis for this unlikely notion. Boko Haram has been on the terrorist list since November, and it didnt stop them.

If she runs, this wont be Clintons first rodeo. It wont be the first time that bitter opponents have spun a false history out of whole cloth and tried to pin it on her. The paranoid fantasy over Vince Fosters suicide comes to mind.

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