Hillary Clinton. What does that name bring to mind? Some might say deceit, some may say hope, and still others may say it's more of the same from the political machine that is Washington D.C.

Once thought to be a foregone conclusion that she would win at least the Democratic primary, Clinton is finding herself in a bit of a tough position. While more and more information comes out about both her role in Benghazi and (possibly) sending hundreds of classified emails on her personal computer, it seems her competition has more fuel for the upcoming (smear) campaign in 2016.

There's one more problem for Hillary and his name is Bernie Sanders.

What started out as a slight nuisance for Clinton has begun to creep into the wow-maybe-I-should-be-a-little-worried territory.

Most of us don't know much about Bernie Sanders, myself included, but the more I learn the more he intrigues me.

An independent senator from Vermont, Sanders considers himself a "democratic socialist" meaning he believes in a democratic political system and socialist economics. He's also actually the longest-serving independent congressman in history, which, in today's heavily two-party system is quite the accomplishment in its own.

Let's get back to an even more important accomplishment in today's context. Bernie Sanders is second to Hillary Clinton in the polls right now. Although he's still a long shot to win against the political goliath that Hillary and the Clinton family has become, he's evolved into just enough of an opposing force to make a difference in the election.

For instance, on June 1, 2014, toward the peak of Hillary's standings in the primary polls, she was at 64.4 percent, while Bernie Sanders entered the race in last place with .8 percent. Yes that is a period before and after the 8 percent. POINT eight percent, or eight-tenths of a single percentage point. Regardless of how you say it, that's really, really, really low. He was ranked below the likes of Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb.

You might ask, "Joe, who the hell are Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb." To that, I would tell you, Martin O'Malley was the governor of Maryland a while back and I really have no idea who Jim Webb is. So with that awkwardness out of the way you know how low Bernie Sanders really was.

Now, a little more than a year later, Sanders is in second place with a more respectable 18.5 percent on average and he's ranked as high as 22 percent by PPP. Hillary has dipped to 56.9 percent, and as low as 52 percent by the Morning Consult.

A nearly 40 point lead for Hillary should seem safe, but her poll numbers have been slipping since April, while Sanders has jumped 11 percent in that same time.

Although 40 points is a steep hill to climb for Senator Sanders, odder things have happened, and with the first primary debates coming up this is a pivotal point in the election process.

The funny thing about this year's election is that absolutely none of the typical candidates are likable. This plays well for little-known candidates like Bernie Sanders. From Jeb Bush to Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump, everyone has something substantially damning to their run for president.

Bush has his absolute and utter colorless personality, and (more importantly) the fact that nothing makes somebody want to vote for (literally, any) other candidate more than seeing the name "Bush" on a presidential ballot again.

Trump is Trump. Other than his straight talk and ability to outspend any other candidate there's not too much going for Donald in the election.

And of course, we come back to Hillary Clinton. Although I like her more than any other front runner, her days in D.C. may be numbered. There are multiple investigations into her email scandal, one of which recently announced that these emails did in fact contain classified information.

There is something to be said about the over-classification of information in our government, anything from the time of a meeting to the president's tee time may be considered confidential, but that's a debate for another day. What is important is that this information will not play well in an extended campaign process. In fact it could break any chance Hillary had of winning the general election, and dare I say the primary?

The next few months will be truly telling in the Hillary Clinton saga. Debates, investigations, and campaign strategies will all play key roles in how the clear favorite may end up the loser. With Bernie Sanders quickly approaching and a field of nearly 20 republican candidates ready to dig up any dirt they can find on her, Hillary Clinton definitely has her work cut out for her.

But with so many questions one thing is still certain. Everybody wins if Bill Clinton becomes the First Lady.