Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured in October, has become one of the most powerful people in Washington. Here's a look at her life and career through the years:
Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and "Governing America."
(CNN) -- Hillary Clinton could be an excellent presidential candidate for the Democrats in 2016. After suffering through an extremely difficult loss in the primaries against Barack Obama, Clinton has managed to strengthen her resume.
As secretary of state, she improved her standing on foreign policy and earned more respect among Democrats who had been skeptical of her positions ever since her vote on the resolution to authorize force in Iraq in 2002.
The press has been showering praise on Clinton in recent months. Even though the next presidential election is more than three years away, there have been numerous stories about how Clinton can dominate the nomination process. Polls show that she comes out ahead of most Democrats as well as prominent Republicans, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
One poll conducted by the Washington Post found that 67% of Americans have a favorable view of Clinton. The Ready for Hillary super PAC has already launched its website.
"We are going to keep up the energy and excitement surrounding her potential candidacy," said the PAC's chairwoman, Allida Black. There have even been articles about why she is not the inevitable candidate, the kind of discussion that only tends to fuel the perception that she is at the top of the heap.
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But Clinton needs to be careful. In 2008, Barack Obama turned Clinton's experience as first lady and senator into a liability. Back then, Clinton was also seen as the experienced candidate who would inevitably win the nomination.
When Clinton won the New Hampshire primary after a stunning loss in Iowa, many reporters credited her experience. Clinton did not back away from this image. "I put forth my lifetime of experience," she said. "Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002."
Sensing the mood of the Democratic electorate, Obama capitalized on the fact that he was not a Washington insider. He aggressively attacked Clinton by depicting her as the quintessential politician who was shaped by the Beltway, someone who voters could not trust to keep her word, and a Democrat who would certainly disappoint loyal members of the party by sticking to the status quo.
While Clinton's supporters boasted that no other candidate matched her skills, with each Obama victory, the press became more excited about the unexpected turn in the contest.
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Obama did what Jimmy Carter did in 1976, when he took on Washington heavyweights such as Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Morris Udall by making experience a bad word. Ronald Reagan did the same to his Republican opponents in 1980, including George H.W. Bush, whose sterling record turned into a huge liability with primary voters.
In an era when voters distrust the government, they can often see value in the person with less experience in the system. And in an era when reporters cover elections like horse races, the underdog is often the most exciting person to write about.
Of course, Clinton was anything but "just" a Washington insider. That image was as much the creation of her opponent's political campaign as her own.
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Her campaign could easily have depicted her as someone who would be a fresh voice in Washington -- the first female president, a person who had struggled to make the role of the first lady something bigger, a fighter who had taken on the aggressive conservative establishment, even as her husband betrayed her before the public eye.
While in the Senate, Clinton displayed remarkable skills at winning over support among many skeptics, including Republicans who had once fought to impeach her husband. Yes, this is about experience in Washington, but her success was also a considerable asset that few politicians possess.
With all the praise that is being showered on her potential candidacy, it's easy to see Clinton facing the same challenges if she decides to run in 2016. Clinton will have to remember the lessons of 2008.
Clinton certainly deserves all the positive coverage, but she can't let it define her. For if she does decide to declare her candidacy, there might be so little excitement left by the time that it is made that the media will turn their attention to any fresh voice, such as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is an extremely potent politician.
The narrative that campaigns tell about a candidate plays a huge role in the outcome of a contest.
Clinton has an impressive story to tell. She has championed women's rights for decades. She embodies the drive for female equality by shattering many glass ceilings. She has deep political experiences at home and abroad. More than anyone at the moment, she has the potential to be America's female president.
If she runs, Clinton needs to make sure that her Democratic as well as Republican opponents don't turn her strength into a weakness once again.
Clinton needs to find the right balance between selling her experiences and skills and keeping the excitement that her candidacy could bring to a Democratic ticket. She needs to sell the message that her candidacy is distinct and historic. And if she could bring enthusiastic and idealistic supporters to the ballot box just as Obama was able to do, then she has a chance to truly make history.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.
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Hillary Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974.
Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes."
With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd during his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992.
Al Gore, from left, his wife, Tipper, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, on August 23, 1992, after they gave speeches on family values.
Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Bill Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office.
Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993.
Clinton pours herself a cup of tea during her testimony to the Senate Education and Labor Committee on health care reform in 1993.
Clinton speaks at George Washington University on September 10, 1993, in Washington, during her husband's first term.
Clinton, left, waves to the media on January 26, 1996, as she arrives at federal court in Washington for an appearance before a grand jury. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas.
Hillary Clinton looks on as President Bill Clinton addresses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on January 26, 1998.
Hillary and Bill Clinton arrive at Foundry United Methodist Church on August 16, 1998, in Washington. He became the first sitting president to testify before a grand jury when he testified via satellite about the Monica Lewinsky matter.
Clinton shakes hands during a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, New York, on March 5, 2000.
Clinton waves to the crowd as she arrives on the stage at the Democratic National Convention on August 14, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Clinton campaigns for a Senate seat at Grand Central Station on October 25, 2000, in New York.
First lady Hillary Clinton is sworn in as a senator in a reenactment ceremony with President Bill Clinton, from left, nephew Tyler, daughter Chelsea, brother Hugh Rodham, mother Dorothy Rodham and Vice President Al Gore in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill on January 3, 2001, in Washington.
Andrew Cuomo, from left, Eliot Spitzer and Clinton celebrate with the crowd of Democratic supporters after their wins in their various races on November 7, 2006, in New York.
Clinton speaks during a post-primary rally on January 8, 2007, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The Clintons pay a visit to the 92nd Annual Hopkinton State Fair on September 2, 2007, in Contoocook, New Hampshire.
Clinton speaks at a fall kickoff campaign rally on September 2, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Clinton addresses a question during a Democratic presidential candidates debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on September 26, 2007. Also pictured are U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, left, and former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska.
Felipe Bravo, left, and Christian Caraballo are covered with Hillary Clinton stickers in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 8, 2008.
Clinton campaigns with her daughter, Chelsea, on January 1, 2008, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, two days ahead of the January 3 state caucus.
Sen. Clinton waves as she speaks to supporters at the National Building Museum on June 7, 2008, in Washington. Clinton thanked her supporters and urged them to back Sen. Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.
Barack Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a Unity Rally in Unity, New Hampshire, on June 27, 2008.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama watches Sen. Hillary Clinton address the Democrate National Convention at a Democratic supporters' group in Billings, Montana, on August 26, 2008. The two endured a long, heated contest for the 2008 nomination.
Sen. Charles Schumer, left, looks toward Secretary of State designate Clinton as committee chairman Sen. John Kerry, center, looks on during nomination hearings on January 13, 2009, on Capitol Hill.
Clinton testifies during her confirmation hearing for secretary of state before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 13, 2009, in Washington.
Clinton dances with a local choir as while visiting the Victoria Mxenge Housing Project in Philippi on the outskirts of Cape Town, Souith Africa, on August 8, 2009.
Clinton looks through binoculars toward North Korea during a visit to observation post Ouellette at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Panmunjom on July 21, 2010.
Clinton walks up the steps to her aircraft at sunset as she leaves an ASEAN meeting July 23, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
From left: Hillary and Bill Clinton pose on the day of their daughter Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky at the Astor Courts Estate on July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton observe a moment of silence before a NATO meeting on November 19, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Clinton listens as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (not in picture) makes a brief statement before a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington on November 29, 2010.
Clinton shakes hands with a child during an unannounced walk through Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on March 16, 2011.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1, 2011.
Clinton checks her PDA upon departure in a military C-17 plane from Malta bound for Tripoli, Libya, on October 18, 2011.
Clinton speaks as Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, listens during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul on July 7, 2012.
Clinton arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, outside Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 15, 2012.
Clinton looks on as President Barack Obama makes a statement in response to the attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya on September 12, 2012 at the Rose Garden of the White House.
Clinton applauds Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremony where Suu Kyi was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on September 19, 2012 in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton kisses his wife after introducing her at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting on September 24, 2012 in New York City.
Clinton shakes hands with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on September 24, 2012 in New York.
Clinton stands during a press conference following meetings at the Prime Minister's Office in Pristina, Kosovo, on October 31, 2012. Clinton said that Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, fiercely opposed by Serbia, was 'not up for discussion'.
Clinton chats with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Yangon in Yangon on November 19, 2012.
President Barack Obama looks at Clinton before the start of a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, far right, during the East Asian Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 20, 2012.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Clinton at the prime minister's office November 20, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. Clinton arrived in Israel as efforts by Western and Arab diplomats to end the confrontation between Israel and Gaza have escalated.
Clinton arrives on December 4, 2012 for a meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member-countries in Brussels to discuss Syria and Turkey's request for Patriot missiles to be deployed protectively on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Clinton receives a sports jersey and football helmet from Deputy Secretary Tom Nides, center, after returning to work on January 7, following a fall where she hit her head and doctors later detected a blood clot. The jersey had her last name on the top and with the number 112, which represents the number of countries that she has visited as Secretary of State.
Clinton and her husband arrive for inauguration for President Barack Obama's second term at the U.S. Capitol on January 21.
Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 23, in Washington, DC. Lawmakers questioned Clinton about the security failures during the September 11 attacks against the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
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