I saw Hillary Clinton on C-SPAN speak in an Iowa town hall meeting. It was her first day in the state, with polls saying she has at least a small hill to climb there.

Wow, the new Hillary has emerged. She wasn’t speechifying – which she’s not great at – she was talking with the crowd. I’ve never seen her so at ease and natural. As hard as it is to believe, she’s actually – I know this can’t be right, but I saw it with my own eyes – a better speaker than Bill.

The thing about Bill was, he was the definition of charisma, but you always knew he was a virtuoso used car dealer, feelin’ our pain and cutting welfare benefits at the same time.

But Hillary, out on the stump, is real. She speaks extemporaneously and conversationally about any topic. And she speaks in human terms about what people really care about. You could feel the connection.

It was great seeing the capacity audience in the big hall, with all kinds of people stepping forward to ask questions. It’s tempting to think the whole thing was scripted, that only “approved” people and questions got the microphone, but it didn’t look that way. The people seemed authentic, and the crowd was too large and mixed to be fully controlled.

I’m telling you, the smart money hasn’t realized it yet, but this woman is going to steamroll straight to the White House. And not a moment too soon.