Hillary Clinton most popular US politician, poll shows

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the most popular US politician, surpassing fellow Democrats President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden as well as leading Republicans, a national poll found.

61 per cent of American voters approve of Clinton, a possible presidential candidate for 2016, while 34 per cent said they had an unfavourable opinion, according to the survey by Quinnipiac University released on Friday.

The poll comes one week after Clinton left her post as the nation's top diplomat. Clinton, 65, has said she does not see herself going back to politics but left open the possibility of such a return.

In comparison, 51 per cent said they held a "favourable"opinion of Obama while 46 per cent had an unfavourable opinion.