US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants to step off the high wire of American politics after two decades, dampening speculation that she might stay in government if Pres-ident Barack Obama wins a second term.
Mrs Clinton told State Department employees she is ready for a rest and is paying no attention to the Republican presidential candidate debates.
She said she wants to find out just how tired she is after working flat out as first lady, senator, aspiring presidential candidate and finally the top US diplomat.
“I have made it clear that I will certainly stay on until the President nominates someone so that transition can occur if he wins re-election,”she told a town hall meeting.
“But I think 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.”
However, she appeared to leave the door open for a possible eventual return, adding to laughter from the crowd that “everyone always says that when they leave these jobs”.
As Secretary of State, Mrs Clinton is barred from partisan politics and she acknowledged that it is unusual not to be participating in this election season.
But, she said she is enjoying being away from the fray and hasn’t watched any of the Republican debates. “It is a little odd for me to be totally out of an election season,” she said. “But, you know, I didn’t watch any of those debates.”
Mrs Clinton said she expected the campaign for November’s election to “suck up a lot of the attention” normally devoted to foreign policy issues but she joked that that might actually help the State Department.
“The good news is maybe we can even get more done if they are not paying attention, so just factor that in.”
Timeline
October, 1947. Hillary Diane Rodham is born at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She is raised in a United Methodist family, first in Chicago, and then, from the age of three, in suburban Park Ridge, Illinois.
May, 1965. Hillary enrolls at Wellesley College, where she majors in political science. During her freshman year, she serves as president of the Wellesley Young Republicans.
June, 1969. Hillary Rodham graduates from Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Illinois.
May, 1973. Receives Juris Doctor degree from Yale.
October, 1975. While at Yale, she begins dating law student Bill Clinton. They marry on October 11, and their only child, Chelsea, is born on February 27, 1980.
November, 2000. Hillary Clinton makes history as the first First Lady elected to the United States Senate, and the first woman elected statewide in New York.
November, 2006. She is re-elected to US Senate representing New York.
January, 2007. Clinton announces via her website the formation of a presidential exploratory committee for the United States presidential election of 2008; she states: “I’m in, and I’m in to win”.
August, 2007. Hillary Clinton’s campaign announces it will return Norman Hsu contributions to her Presid-ential campaign.
June, 2008. Sen. Hillary Clinton formally ends her presidential campaign, saying to a packed house of thousands of supporters, “I will continue to stand strong with you every time, every place and every way that I can”.
January, 2009. The Senate confirms Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State as President Barack Obama moves to make his imprint on US foreign policy, mobilising a fresh team of veteran advisers.
January, 2010. Arrives in Haiti to help with disaster relief after major earthquake. She told Haitian President Rene Preval that the United States is prepared to do what it takes to help rebuild the country.