Hillary in Freefall?

Not quite, but Andrew Malcolm has some numbers which might have Camp Clinton starting to worry:

In just the past month, when no one with a real life was thinking about the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton’s massive poll lead over every single potential Republican opponent has collapsed.

In a hypothetical match-up, her margin over Jeb Bush, the closest GOP president, was cut in half to eight points this month, 45%-37%, according to Zogby. That’s down from a whopping 15-point lead in December. Similarly, the former first lady’s 15-point margin over Mitt Romney slid to nine points, 46%-37%.

Still sizable margins, to be sure. But trending uncomfortably in the wrong direction even before an announcement, as Clinton goes to ground to plot her campaign, assemble staff and devise a credible rationale other than gender for why Americans should let her move back into the White House, this time in the West Wing.

The key phrase in Malcolm’s column might be “gone to ground.” I know we’ll have plenty of chances to get truly sick and tired of her once she announces and begins campaigning, but she’s been noticeably absent through thick and through thin in recent months. That might have people wondering about her health, about her judgement, about the real-world consequences of her tenure as SecState. Or — and this might be most deadly of all — people just aren’t thinking about her at all.

A smart Democrat primary contender might want to think about quietly market-testing one or two “Where Was Hillary?” ads to run in Iowa and New Hampshire.