POOR HILLARY, SO UNFAIR, SO UNFAIR – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  New polling will not bring smiles to the queen.  We must comfort her.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) More people have an unfavorable view of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton now than at any time since 2001, according to a new CNN/ORC poll on the 2016 race.

While Clinton remains strikingly dominant in the Democratic field, the poll shows that her numbers have dropped significantly across several key indicators since she launched her campaign in April.

A growing number of people say she is not honest and trustworthy (57%, up from 49% in March), less than half feel she cares about people like them (47%, down from 53% last July) and more now feel she does not inspire confidence (50%, up from 42% last March).

And...

Much of Clinton's fade is attributable to shifts among independents, but she's also losing some ground among her own partisans. Her support in the Democratic nomination contest has dropped 9 points since April, and though more than 8-in-10 Democrats said they thought she was honest and trustworthy earlier this year; now, just 73% say so.

And...

In general election match-ups, Clinton now runs about even with Rand Paul, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio, while she continues to top Bush and Ted Cruz by a significant margin.

As noted above, those shifts stem largely from a change among independents, though Republicans appear to be solidifying their support for GOP candidates while Democrats are slightly less certain about Clinton.

One feature of the race that has held even as the numbers shifted: These match-ups prompt enormous gender gaps. According to the poll, the gender gaps remain over 20 points in each of the five match-ups tested, including a whopping 34-point gender gap in Clinton's match-up with Scott Walker.

Her declining support in those general election match-ups, alongside falling favorability ratings and worsening impressions of her, suggests recent news about her actions as secretary of state may have taken a toll.

COMMENT:  Clinton is clearly suffering, but Republicans are far from out of the woods.  The gender gap remains serious, calling for increased attention to women by the Republican Party.  Did I hear the name "Carly Fiorina"?  I think I did.

June 2,  2015