Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Photo Credit: Public Domain/Department of Defense)
Those who had hoped Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would become the first female U.S. president may have reason for disappointment, reports CBS News. As she has done in recent months, Clinton reiterated that she will not run for president in 2012, citing the strain of holding the position. But what is perhaps shocking is that she told the press that her current position as secretary of state will be “my last public position.”
Hillary Clinton was rumored as next secretary of defense
While Hillary Clinton has denied that she is interested in running for either president or vice president next election – reports indicate that she was notably out of the country during the midterm elections when Democrats lost the House – some experts believed that with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ retirement coming up next year, Clinton was a fine candidate.Yet even that rumor appears to have been squashed by her recent pronouncement that secretary of state is “my last public position.”
There has been no indication that the recent WikiLeaks embarrassment to the Obama administration (and Secretary Clinton’s office in particular) factored into her decision.
What’s next for Hillary Clinton
While government work sounds like it will be in Hillary Clinton’s rear-view mirror after her term as secretary of state ends, Clinton did say that she “would like to continue working to improve lives for others” on a global scale, as her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, has done with his Clinton Foundation. Clinton explained that advocacy work for women and children worldwide appeals to her. Reuters reports that Clinton says she had a “fascinating and rewarding” career before politics as a lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund, which assists abused and neglected kids. Thus, it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see her return to these fields.
“I feel very lucky because of my parents, my education and the opportunities I’ve had,” Clinton said.
