Clinton stirs talk of Hillary making White House run

If the door to a possible run for the White House in 2016 has been closed tightly in the past by Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, yesterday cracked it open again. "I have no earthly idea" what she was thinking, he said in a television interview.

"Whatever she decides to do, I'll support it," he said.

That Hillary Clinton will retreat from public service, at least for a while, seems to be a given - even if Barack Obama wins a second term as President. But it is what she does four years from now that has been prompting parlour gossip in Washington, especially in the aftermath of Bill Clinton's hit speech to the Democratic convention.

"I know I'm biased," he told CBS when asked flatly if he thought his wife might seek the Democratic nomination in 2016, "but I think she demonstrated as senator and as Secretary of State that she has extraordinary ability, a lot of common sense, a lot of, you know, stick-to-itiveness."

As for now, as the first Obama Administration draws to a close, he said: "She wants to take some time off, kind of regroup. Write a book."

- Independent