NO BOUNCE FOR HILLARY – AT 8:19 A.M. ET:  The first major post-Democratic-debate poll is just in, and the results must be disappointing for Hillary Clinton.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) With the first Democratic debate in the books, a new CNN/ORC poll finds most who watched think Hillary Clinton had the best performance of the night, but her strong showing hasn't boosted her standing in the race for the party's nomination.

Clinton stands at 45% in the race for the Democratic nomination, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders behind her at 29%. Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a run for presidency and did not participate in last week's debate, follows at 18%.

Behind the top three, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb had 1% support, while former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Harvard professor Larry Lessig and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley all held less than 1% support.

Compared with pre-debate polling, Sanders' support is up five points since mid-September, but no other candidate showed significant change.

As Biden mulls whether or not to get in the race, the poll suggests Democrats are becoming less enamored of a run from the vice president. In August, 53% of registered Democrats said they wanted Biden to run, that's down to 47% in the new poll. Should Biden decide to sit out the race for the Democratic nomination, Clinton's lead over Sanders climbs to 23 points: 56% would back Clinton, 33% Sanders.

Overall, 31% of registered Democrats say they watched all or most of the CNN/Facebook debate, held October 13 in Las Vegas.

COMMENT:  So, what do we see?  Despite her debate performance, and the fact that she is one of the most recognizable political figures in the world, Hillary Clinton still polls at below 50% in her own party.  Even if Biden opts out, she would be at only 56%, hardly a knockout figure.

Hillary has problems.  It's clear she faces a serious enthusiasm gap, and trustworthiness gap.  She appears before the Benghazi committee this week.  And there is that little matter of an FBI investigation.

She is not a sure bet at all.

October 19, 2015