Talk to most Republican strategists these days and their views of GOP prospects for 2016 range from depressed to despondent. Democrats, however, are far from giddy. Their opinion of the 2016 Clinton versus Trump match-up ranges from cautiously optimistic to nervously confident. Both sides concede that a race between two of the most unpopular candidates in modern political history will be unpredictable. And, both sides are gearing up for six months of bitter, ugly and unprecedented negativity. But, before we can assess what the future holds, it’s important that we properly understand where we start. 1. Hillary enters the general election as both stronger and appreciably weaker than Obama. Despite Bernie Sanders’ recent success in Indiana and his growing support among Democrats in national polling, he is in a weaker position among Democrats than Hillary Clinton was in 2008. Clinton has won about 56 percent of the total votes cast in the primaries and caucuses thus far. Back in 2008, Obama won the Democratic primary with just under 50 percent of the popular vote. And, while she has underperformed with
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