U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sidestepped a direct question on whether she would be the Democratic Party frontrunner for the White House in 2016, while simultaneously receiving warm praise for her work from President Barack Obama in a joint interview with CBS news channel over the weekend.
“Obviously the President and I care deeply about what's going to happen for our country in the future. And I don't think, you know, either he or I can make predictions about what's going to happen tomorrow or the next year,” the soon-to-be-retiring Secretary said.
Mr. Obama similarly quipped, “You guys in the press are incorrigible. I was literally inaugurated four days ago, and you're talking about the elections four years from now.” Both senior leaders gushed with warmth over each other and admitted to significant change in their relationship after one of the most bitterly-fought primaries in recent times in 2008.
Mr. Obama appeared to both endorse Ms. Clinton’s work and hint at a future political engagement for her when he said, “The main thing is I just wanted to have a chance to publicly say 'thank you...I'm going to miss her, wish she was sticking around, but she has logged in so many miles I can't begrudge her wanting to take it easy for a little bit.”
Ms. Clinton, who will be replaced by Democratic Senator and Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, said she had logged 1 million air miles and touched down in 112 countries over the course of what is widely acknowledged as a successful career during difficult times for the Obama administration.
Last month she collapsed from dehydration related to a stomach virus and suffered a concussion after hitting her head. Addressing her health concerns, she added that she still had some lingering effects from the concussion and the blood clot that had formed as a result, but that the doctors had told her that it would recede. “Thankfully I'm... looking forward to being at full speed,” she said.
