US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would not serve a full eight years if President Barack Obama wins another term, hoping eventually to retire to writing and teaching.
Clinton, who has spent two decades in the national spotlight and narrowly lost her own bid to be president last year, said she enjoyed her job as the top US diplomat but found it physically grueling.
Asked by talk-show host Tavis Smiley if she would serve eight years, she replied: “No, I really can’t.”
“The whole eight — that would be very challenging,” she said in the interview broadcast on Wednesday on public television.
“It’s a 24-7 job and I think at some point, I will be very happy to pass it on to someone else,” Clinton said.
Clinton repeated that she would not run again for president, saying she wanted a private life after a career in which she has served as first lady and a US senator.
“There are so many things I’m interested in, really going back to private life and spending time reading and writing and maybe teaching. Maybe some personal travel — not the kind of travel where you bring a couple of hundred people with you,” she said.
Clinton said she also hoped throughout her life to be a strong advocate for the rights of women and girls.
The interview was broadcast the same evening that Obama delivered his first State of the Union address, which Clinton missed as she was in London to attend international talks on Afghanistan and Yemen.
Secretaries of state in recent times have rarely served more than one presidential term, although George Shultz was in office for six-and-a-half years under Ronald Reagan.
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Friday said that his father, jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, has chosen him to lead the country’s powerful conservative movement, shaking up next year’s election race. The 44-year-old senator said on social media that he will carry forward the political legacy that reshaped Brazilian politics. His announcement makes him an instant contender for the presidency. Jair Bolsonaro, 70, is unlikely to run after being sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup and banned from public office. He is appealing and seeking a legislative pardon. The former president also faces serious health issues, including complications from a
RSS