And here we thought the Oscar races started early. Almost immediately after President Barack Obama was inaugurated into the White House for the second time, talk quickly turned to his successor. “So, Hillary Clinton is going to run for President in 2016, right?” asked everyone everywhere. In fact, 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft brought up that very subject during his joint interview with the President and the outgoing Secretary of State, which aired on Sunday night. (Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden presumably watched from home wondering if his invitation got lost in the mail and then remembered he was on Parks and Recreation and they weren’t, so you know what, forget those guys anyway because Leslie Knope’s endorsement is plenty for him, thankyouverymuch.)
While Clinton could neither confirm nor deny that she would be running in 2016 (she is, as she pointed out to Kroft, still Secretary of State and therefore can’t discuss these sort of matters) she had plenty of ringing endorsements, unofficial or otherwise, from her good pal Barack. That’s right, despite all their differences and that battle of a campaign back in 2008, these two are now not only distinguished colleagues, but friends, too. At the very least, come 2016, maybe these two can star as a wisecracking, no-nonsense buddy duo dramedy on TNT.
But, in case Rocky & Hills (move over, Rizzoli & Isles) doesn’t make it to primetime and Clinton does run again, she’s definitely got Barack on her side. Here are ten of the nicest things Obama had to say about his Secretary of State during their interview — which he said he wanted to have as a “public thank you” to the hard-working Mrs. Clinton. C’mon, tell us you can’t see this on campaign posters in a few years:
– “I want the country to appreciate just what an extraordinary role she’s played.”
– “A lot of the successes we’ve had internationally is because of her hard work.”
– “Her discipline, her stamina, her thoughfulness, her ability to project and make clear issues that are important to the American people.”
– “I consider Hillary a strong friend.”
– “[We have] a sense of trust and being in the foxhole together.”
– “Bill and Hillary worked very hard for me.”
– “Hillary has been one of the most important advisors that I’ve had on a whole range of issues.”
– “I’m gonna miss her (as Secretary of State), I wish she was sticking around.”
– “We both built some pretty thick skins.”
– “[She’s] … a world figure.”
– “Hilllllllaaaaarrrrrrrryyyyy, you guys, it’s HILLARY!”
Okay, that last one isn’t real, but it might as well be. The admiration and respect between these two figures was most certainly mutual during the interview and Hillary’s statement that “the president and I care deeply about what’s going to happen for our country in the future and I don’t think either he or I can make predictions” sounded a bit like a veiled way of saying, “I’m not announcing my run, but if I was, Barack would be happy to pass the baton to me.” You can watch both parts of the 60 Minutes segment, including discussion of Clinton’s health issues and the Benghazi hearings here:
