Hillary Clinton Hints She Won’t Run In 2016

In the run-up to the 2012 elections we saw speculation, all of it utter nonsense, that Hillary Clinton might replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket or even that Obama would step aside and let Hillary run in his place. With those possibilities out the window (they always were, of course) the next Hillary-related speculation will focus on 2016 and the question of whether or not she’ll run for President again. She’s only be 69 in 2016, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility, but the Secretary of State is hinting again that electoral politics is not in her future:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday she has no desire to make another run for the White House but hopes to see an American woman president in her lifetime.

Politely turning aside questions about her political intentions at a town hall event in Kolkata, Clinton said she really wanted to see “that final glass ceiling” broken.

Clinton, who sought the Democratic nomination four years ago and barely lost to Barack Obama, noted that the American political process is difficult and heavily dependent on fund raising, which makes it hard for any candidate to succeed.

Still, she told her audience, “I think that there will be an election that will elect a woman.”

(…)

“I would like to come back to India and just wander around without the streets being closed,” she said. “I just want to get back to taking some deep breaths, feeling that there are other ways i can continue to serve.”

Of course, it’s unlikely that anyone is going to just drop the Hillary speculation, which is likely to continue for several years. In fact, you’re likely to see many potential Democratic candidates sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what Hillary, and yes even Joe Biden, decide to do about 2016. Quite honestly, if Hillary does run and the Obama Administration is leaving office with a relatively good reputation then it’s hard to see any Democrat beating her in a primary. Of course, we said that four  years ago, didn’t we?

FILED UNDER: 2016 Election, US Politics, , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Hey Norm says:

    Quit while you are ahead.
    She’ll leave State with a great reputation.
    Why sully that by exposing it to the irrational hate and unfounded lies that make up the ideology of today’s GOP?

  2. Tsar Nicholas says:

    I think if she runs in 2016 that Hillary would sweep aside all potential challengers for the Dem nomination. 2008 was from her perspective a one-time fluke. Obama received 90% of the black vote. Obama won most of the small state caucuses by 2-1 margins. What other candidate on the event horizon could duplicate that?

  3. Tano says:

    Strange title Doug. She “hints” she won’t run??? She has been pretty explicit and consistent about denying any interest in running.

    Look, maybe she really doesn’t want to run. If she does want to, she would very dumb and irresponsible to even hint at it right now – it would totally politicize her work as SoS and undermine her effectiveness.

    She is not in a position like the possible VP nominees in the GOP – where dropping hints about their interest is necessary to get them into the discussion. Hillary will be part of the 2016 discussion until the day the filing deadlines pass and it becomes impossible for her to jump in – no matter what she says.

    Her interest, if she does want to run, is to deny it up until the moment she decides to declare.
    It seems to me that that is the landscape here – so trying to interpret “hints” is a waste of time.

  4. AllenS says:

    Even if she was thinking about running, she wouldn’t tell anyone.