Hillary Clinton’s popularity falls

Hillary Clinton’s favorability rating has dropped slightly in recent months, though a majority still view her positively, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.  

The poll found 54 percent view Clinton favorably, down from 59 percent in February.

It’s a sharper slide from Clinton’s years as secretary of State, when she consistently received ratings above 60 percent.

{mosads}Clinton’s new rating is the lowest it’s been since August 2008, when 54 percent viewed her favorably. At that point, she was getting ready to deliver a speech at the Democratic National Convention to endorse Barack Obama’s nomination for president.

In 2011 and 2012, as many as two-thirds of the public viewed Clinton favorably.

Although Republicans’ impressions of Clinton have improved over the years, 21 percent view her favorably now. The rating had peaked at 41 percent in mid-2012, but dropped after the attack in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012. Her approval among Republicans was 32 percent late that year.

Former President Bill Clinton, meanwhile, enjoys a favorable rating of 64 percent, 10 percentage points more than his wife. 

The survey comes just a day after Hillary Clinton’s memoir Hard Choices was released. Clinton is in the midst of a national book tour and media blitz.

The poll surveyed 1,027 people between June 5 and 8 and has a 4-percentage-point margin of error.