The Race Has Begun?

Recently, C-Span, the cable channel devoted to covering federal government affairs, began covering the 2016 Presidential race for its Sunday evening series entitled, “Road to the White House.”  For political junkies, this could not have started soon enough.  To casual political observers, the race for the White House does not begin in 2013, but in 2016.  However, imagine yourself as a political insider for either the Democratic or Republican Parties (or for that matter, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, or other third parties/Independents).  What would you be looking for in a candidate at this time in 2013?