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Washington Lets say its 99 percent certain that Hillary Rodham Clinton is running for president. At least thats the working assumption here inside the Beltway.

According to press reports citing advisers to Mrs. Clinton, she is now likely to make a formal announcement in the spring of 2015. That will allow her to clear the decks of paid speeches that are on her calendar into March. The later announcement also allows her inner circle to wait before making the necessary legal separation with the outside groups supporting her, such as Ready for Hillary.

I had thought last summer or early fall that she might have an exploratory committee going by now, but it appears she doesnt feel shes in any rush, since shell probably raise as much money as she needs to raise, says Democratic strategist Peter Fenn.

I think they want to structure the announcement absolutely right, Mr. Fenn adds. Thats especially the case after her summer book tour, which didnt go so smoothly starting with her comment that she and her husband, the former president, were dead broke when they left the White House in 2001. Sales of her memoir, Hard Choices, were flat.

Clinton doesnt need to announce early to boost her public profile. She already has near-universal name ID. But she doesnt want to wait so long that it looks too cute by half. The media drumbeat is likely to be deafening by the end of winter, if shes still officially pondering.

If she ends up not running, analysts expect her to let us know sooner than spring. A no-go decision would profoundly affect the shape of the Democratic field, and probably spur Vice President Joe Biden and possibly Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts to get in.

But chances are, Clinton is in. She has met with potential campaign managers. Top Obama adviser John Podesta is on tap to serve as campaign chair.

So how important is the timing of a formal announcement, really? And is there a correlation between the timing of a presidential campaign rollout and its ultimate success?

Each presidential cycle has its own dynamic. In the 1992 campaign, then-Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas waited until late October 1991 to announce his long-shot candidacy. But early 1991 was Operation Desert Storm, which left then-President George H. W. Bush looking unbeatable for reelection. The early field of Democratic challengers was weak. And the 800-pound gorilla, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo (D), eventually opted out. Mr. Clinton had his opening.

When then-Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York ran for president the first time, she announced on Jan. 20, 2007. Senate colleague Barack Obama followed soon after, on Feb. 10. Each had an incentive to get in early. Clinton needed to establish her credibility as a prospective commander in chief and to get a jump on the charismatic young senator from Illinois. Senator Obama needed to build on his early fame, after his star turn at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and to add substance to the flash.

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Hillary Clinton 2016: Does timing of announcement matter? (+video)

Election 2016 may be back to the future all over again.

With Jeb Bush's Tuesday announcement that he is actively exploring a run for the White House in 2016, the prospect of another Bush v. Clinton matchup grows. To Americans all-too familiar with both political families that may be bothexciting and appalling.

Should the former Florida governor and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton win their respective party's nomination and that's a long way off the 2016 election would pit two of the most powerful American political dynasties of late against each other.

And it wouldn't be the first time. In 1992, Bill Clinton ousted former President George H.W. Bush, Jeb's father. And in 2000, George W. Bush, Jeb's brother, defeated Clinton Vice President Al Gore.

Politically incestuous? Sure. But both Clinton (Hillary, to be clear) and Bush (we're talking about Jeb) loom large.

Clinton nearly won her party's nomination and gained valuable experience in 2008. She earned high marks and approval ratings for her four years as Secretary of State under President Obama. She has, arguably, the strongest claim on being the next Democratic standard-bearer.

Of course, Bush is no slacker in the political department either. As the Monitor reported, he's got plenty going for him name recognition, gravitas, polish, executive experience in a major swing state, and perhaps most importantly, credibility with a critical demographic that has eluded Republicans more recently: Hispanics. After all, Governor Bush speaks Spanish, his wife was born in Mexico, and he took an astonishing 61 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 1998 governor's race.

So there's reason that the Bushes and Clintons remain popular.

We love our brands they offer certainty in a world spinning apart, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos, told Politico. The political equivalent of a brand is the dynasty, the Bushes or Clintons. And even if Coke produces New Coke, or Ford, an Edsel, now and then. we remain loyal. We know and value what the brand stands for otherwise, we wouldnt want it rehabilitated.

Of course, many aren't so pleased with the prospect of another Bush-Clinton election, with some in the international community mocking America's democracy.

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Jeb Bush v. Hillary Clinton: Who would win in 2016?

Hillary Clinton says she's proud to have been part of an administration that "banned illegal renditions and brutal interrogations" and that the US should never be involved in torture anywhere in the world.

Clinton spoke about the importance of the nation acting in accordance with its values after receiving an award from The Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights at a gala in New York.

"Today we can say again in a loud and clear voice that the United States should never condone or practice torture anywhere in the world," Clinton told the audience.

"That should be absolutely clear as a matter of both policy and law, including our international treaty obligations."

The remarks marked Clinton's first on the subject since the release of a Senate report last week investigating the CIA's interrogation techniques after 9/11.

The report has sparked questions about the appropriate use of force in the war against terrorism.

Clinton said that recent world events, including the mass murder of children in Pakistan and the siege in Sydney, "should steel our resolve and underscore that our values are what set us apart from our adversaries".

Clinton said Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968, would agree that it's "possible to keep us safe from terrorism and reduce crime and violence without relying on torture abroad or unnecessary force or excessive incarceration at home".

Clinton, a former first lady, New York senator and US Secretary of State, is considering another run for president and is viewed as the likely Democratic nominee if she runs.

She was honoured at the Kennedy organisation's star-studded Ripple of Hope Award ceremony.

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Clinton denounces torture at rights gala

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Democrats support Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, but they want to give her a fight before giving her the nomination.

A new Monmouth University poll found nearly half of respondents named the former secretary of State when asked to name their top choice for the party's nomination.

But the same number -- 48 percent -- said they also thought it would be better if she faced challengers in the primary, including 53 percent of those who say they support her. Forty-three percent preferred the party coalesce behind a single candidate, Clinton, early in the process.

"When nearly half of Democratic voters volunteer the name Hillary Clinton as their choice for 2016, it's hard to deny that she is the clear front runner," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "At the same, time Democrats do not want to the nomination process to be a coronation."

In the poll, no other candidate even broke double-digits. Popular progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was named by 6 percent of those polled, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Vice President Joe Biden, both with 2 percent.

Thirty-two percent, however, said they were undecided.

Of those polled, 82 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Clinton, compared to just 11 percent who viewed her unfavorably.

Support for Clinton was slightly lower in the Monmouth poll than in most others released in recent weeks. In surveys from McClatchy/Marist, CNN, Quinnipiac, Rasmussen and ABC/Washington Post released since October, support for Clinton ranged from 57 percent to 65 percent.

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Democrats support Hillary Clinton, and a primary challenge: poll

Call Hillary Clinton the early presidential frontrunner - but barely.

That's the result from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, which finds that half of American voters - 50 percent - saying they could see themselves supporting her if she runs for the White House in 2016, while 48 percent oppose her.

Although that margin of support is small, it stands in sharp contrast to the numbers for well-known Republicans, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who announced on Tuesday that he's "actively" exploring a presidential bid.

More than a year before the first votes will be cast:

Despite these numbers - which could certainly change as the presidential field becomes clearer - Clinton is far from a lock on the presidency.

A whopping 71 percent of American voters want the next president to take a different approach than President Barack Obama's; Clinton served as his first-term secretary of state.

And by 40 percent to 38 percent, voters prefer a Republican to win the White House in 2016 instead of a Democrat.

"This is an electorate -by a large margin - looking for change," says Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter Hart and his colleagues at Hart Research Associates.

Breaking down the Democratic and Republican fields

Still, Clinton has a substantial lead among Democratic voters - 82 percent say they could see themselves supporting if she runs, versus 15 percent who can't.

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Hillary Clinton Early Leader in Presidential Race: Poll