Hillary Suggests One Term as Secretary of State Is Enough
Former first lady says it's time to step down from "the high wire of American politics."
| Posted Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at 11:56 AM
Photograph by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.
Hillary Clinton suggested Thursday that she has no plans to stay on as secretary of state, even if President Obama wins re-election this November, and likewise is ready to bring her lengthy and historic career in politics to an end.
USA Today reports the former first lady and U.S. senator told a town hall for State Department employees on Thursday that she would "certainly" stay on until Obama would be able to nominate her replacement, but that "after 20 years, and it will be 20 years, of being on the high wire of American politics and all of the challenges that come with that, it would probably be a good idea to just find out how tired I am."
Still, she did appear to hint at the possibility that her political career could have at least one more act, drawing laughs from the crowd by telling them that "everyone always says that when they leave these jobs."
A few political observers have floated the idea that Clinton should challenge Obama in the primary this year, while others—like the New York Times's Bill Keller—have suggested that Obama should move Vice President Joe Biden over to the State Department and replace him with Clinton on the 2012 Democratic ticket. Clinton and her adviser have repeatedly shot down such speculation, as have many other Democratic insiders.
