Hillary Clinton concedes "you have to be a little bit crazy to run for president," though she admits she'd do exactly that — again — if she decided she wanted to "continue serving."
In an interview with
Gwen Ifill of "PBS NewsHour" that airs Wednesday night, the former first lady and secretary of state laughed at a question about whether she was "insane" to take another run at the White House.
Should she run in 2016, it would be her second attempt. She lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary.
"Well, you have to be a little bit crazy to run for president, let me just put it like that," she said, "because you have to be so totally immersed, and so convinced that you can bring something to that office — that your vision about what you can do to help Americans," she said in a trailer for the program posted on Real Clear Politics.
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On tour promoting her book
"Hard Choices," Clinton said, "I've had people come through the line who tell me their stories about losing their job, about what's happened since they got healthcare that has helped them, and I hear this, so I know that my life of service is the biggest reason why I would consider doing this, because I would want to continue serving.
"But I also know that it's a very hard job, and it's a job that, you know, you have to be totally consumed by, and that's kind of the definition of being a little bit crazy, I think."
Clinton also admitted she probably put her foot in her mouth when talking about her own and former President Bill Clinton's wealth.
In one interview, she said the couple were
"dead broke" after leaving the White House, and in another, she commented that unlike some rich people, she and her husband are not
"truly well off."
The Clintons' wealth is estimated to be between $100 million and $200 million,
The Daily Caller reported.
"I shouldn't have said the, I think, five or so words that I said," Clinton told Ifill.
"You know, my inartful use of those few words doesn't change who I am, what I've stood for my entire life, what I stand for today.
"Bill and I have had terrific opportunities, but sadly, it's not true for so many Americans today," she said. "The Great Recession hasn't ended for too many Americans … Families are struggling.
"It's important that we all try to figure out what we're going to do, and that's what I've done my entire life," Clinton said.
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At the Clinton Global Initiative conference in Denver on Tuesday, when Clinton gave her interview to PBS, former President Bill Clinton defended his wife, insisting, "She's not out of touch."
"My husband was very sweet today, but I don't need anybody to defend my record. I think my record speaks for itself," she told Ifill, according to excerpts distributed by PBS ahead of the program airing Wednesday night.
Asked if Obama should have left a residual force in Iraq, Hillary Clinton said it was a Bush administration decision. The agreement was signed with the Iraqi government back in 2008 setting a timeline for beginning the U.S. troop withdrawal in 2009 and ending it in 2011.
"[Obama] was deciding based on what the Bush administration had already determined, because they were the ones who said troops have to be out by the end of 2011," Clinton said.
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