CHRISTCHURCH – US secretary of state Hillary Clinton yesterday ruled out running for president in 2012 or 2016, saying the United States should be ready for a woman president – but it would not be her.
In interviews in New Zealand, the failed 2008 presidential candidate made clear she had no plans to run again despite talk – fuelled partly by her fellow Democrats’ losses in Tuesday’s US midterm elections – that she might embark on a new race.
Asked by TV3 New Zealand whether she ruled out standing for the top US office between now and 2016, Ms Clinton was said to have replied: “Oh yes, yes. I’m very pleased to be doing what I’m doing as secretary of state.” In a separate interview with TV New Zealand, she said she hoped the US was ready for a female president, adding “it should be”.
Asked whether it might be her, she replied: “Well, not me. But it will be someone and it is nice coming to countries that have already proven that they can elect women to the highest governing positions that they have in their systems.”
New Zealand, where former prime ministers include Helen Clark and Jenny Shipley, is the second-to-last stop on an Asia-Pacific tour that wraps up in Australia, where current prime minister is Julia Gillard.
In Tuesday’s elections, Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives, where the Republicans gained at least 60 members. As of Thursday, Democrats held on to the Senate with a 51-seat majority, but the Republicans gained six seats there.
The Democrats’ poor showing has been widely interpreted as a referendum on president Barak Obama, raising questions about who the party may field as its candidate in 2012, when he would be expected to run for re-election, and in 2016. – (Reuters)