Washington (CNN) –– Even though it was Republican party leaders meeting in Washington this week, Hillary Clinton might as well have been there.
In the halls between Republican National Committee meetings, the former secretary of state's name came up in conversation regularly. At a rules committee meeting on Thursday night, Clinton - the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 - was referred to as "she who should not be named." And at the powwow's most-watched events, Republicans pledged a laser-like focus on winning back the White House in 2016.