President 2016: What Are the Odds?

Never mind the talking heads, consider the opinions of people who put money where their mouths are. If you consult leading bookies, Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie will vie for the Presidency three years from now, and the winner will be...Mrs. Clinton.

Those who believe the former First Lady will reoccupy the White House after 2016 can bet on her against odds of only 2-1. Her leading Republican opponent Christie is posted at 10-1.

Life imitates horse-racing as a new CNN poll shows Christie leading the GOP pack among voters with 24 percent after his New Jersey landslide, ahead of Rand Paul (13), Paul Ryan (11), Ted Cruz (10) and Marco Rubio (9).

On the bookie tote board, Rubio is 12-l with Paul, Ryan and Jeb Bush 20-1 and Cruz trailing at 33-1.

As for Democrats who might challenge Clinton, they offer Elizabeth Warren (25-1), Joe Biden (33-1) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (40-1).

At this point, all this is at the fun-and-games stage, but the real-life dynamic is building toward a turbulent 2016.

A new CNN poll on reality, not what-ifs, shows less than a quarter of the public saying the economy is improving, while nearly four in ten see it as getting worse.

If Barack Obama and the GOP Congressional naysayers fail to get it together in the next three years, could a third-party candidate emerge? The bookies will be keeping out a watchful eye.