The most recent Rasmussen poll shows Hillary Clinton holding a 20 point lead nationally over Senator Barack Obama. Clinton also has an 17 point lead in the Real Clear Politics averages of the most recently released national polls.

Moreover, examination of the most recently released polls in Iowa show her position improving over the last month or so, moving to a 5% lead in the last two polls to have been released.

New Hampshire tells a similar story. A Rasmussen poll this week shows her with a 23% lead overall--an 8% improvement over their August numbers and 3% better than the RCP average of 20%. Rasmussen polling also shows Clinton’s lead growing in Florida.

Finally, in South Carolina an LA Times poll released just over a week ago shows her widening her margin to 18%.

And the events of this past week are likely to do nothing that will change this pattern.

It seems pretty clear that the only groups that could conceivably deny Clinton the nomination are anti-war groups, still angry about her vote ostensibly authorizing the President to go to war in Iraq. And by

pointedly refusing to vote to condemn the MoveOn.Org ad condemning General Patreaus and supporting a timetable for withdrawal, she artfully protected her left flank (see Rasmussen poll on MoveOn ad).

Also, by releasing a health care plan that both moves toward universality, but avoids explicit government mandates, Senator Clinton has managed to propose a plan that was won widespread public support and

avoids virtually all of the negative of Hillarycare of 1993 and 1994 (see Rasmussen polls on Health Care).

Her delicate balancing act--executed deftly--stands in contrast to Senator Obama who chose not to vote at all on the resolution condemning MoveOn and Senator Edwards who could only complain that Senator Clinton had effectively lifted the core principles from his own healh care proposal.

EDITOR’S NOTE: New data also shows that Clinton has opened her largest lead of the season over Rudy Giuliani.

Douglas Schoen is a founding and former partner of Penn Schoen & Berland, and a Fox News Contributor.

Schoen was President Bill Clinton's research and strategic consultant during the 1996 reelection campaign.