The transformation of Hillary Clinton’s public image during the past three years has been remarkable. After her own party rejected her back in 2008, few would have predicted she’d be polling higher than Obama in a 2012 matchup with Republicans:

Clinton would beat former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 17 points, 55 percent-38 percent, according to Time magazine. And the former first lady would blow away Texas Gov. Rick Perry by 26 points, 58 percent-32 percent.

In contrast, that same poll shows that Obama leads Romney by only 3 percentage points and Perry by 12 points.

Once seen as a divisive far-left opportunist, Clinton owes a lot of her newfound respect to her position as secretary of state. Before she took office, Clinton was mainly known for her domestic policy views. But foreign policy tends to be less visibly partisan, which likely helped soften her image with Republicans and independent voters.

Plus, the only major victories of Obama’s presidency have been foreign policy-related, which is ironic considering how little Obama seems to care about these issues. And while there’s plenty to criticize about this administration’s national security policies, that’s also the area where Obama has been the least ideologically rigid, keeping many of Bush’s counterterrorism policies in place. Foreign policy issues are also where Obama tends to score highest in national polls.

The Clinton-Republican matchup poll will probably spark another round of calls for her to run in 2016, or at least knock Joe Biden out of the VP slot in 2012. It’s not going to happen. But while Clinton may never get to the White House, this is probably a good thing as far as her legacy is concerned.