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Does Bill Know If Hillary's Running For Prez? Nope

by Lauren Barbato

If there was one person who would know about Hillary Clinton's future political plans, you think it'd be her husband. Not so fast, says Bill. In an interview with CNN, former President Bill Clinton admitted Hillary running for president in 2016 is still a mystery, even to him. Plain and simple, Hillary "hasn’t asked me yet," Bill said.

Sitting down with CNN's Anna Coren in Vietnam, Bill Clinton elaborated on Hillary's possible presidential run, but his answers won't put to rest the "Ready For Hillary" narrative that has been following Hillary ever since she left her position as Secretary of State in January 2013. When asked flat-out by Coren if his wife was going to run for president in 2016, Bill looked as lost as the rest of us. "I don't know," he said.

Bill Clinton continued:

This is has been the first free time she's had in a long time. We've reached a point in our lives when we think you really shouldn't run for office if you don't have a clear idea of what you can do and a unique contribution you can make, and you can outline that. I'm proud of her. Whatever she does is fine with me. I'll support whatever she does.

And if "whatever she does" turns out to be president of the United States, then Bill believes the country will be in good hands. "Oh, she'd be really good," he said. "She's the ablest public servant I've ever worked with."

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It also seems that Bill would be ready to take on the role as FMOTUS — first man of the United States. He revealed to Coren a pact he and Hillary made when they left the White House in 2001: Because Hillary made sacrifices for Bill's career for 26 years, he now has to support her career for 26 years. Seems like a fair trade-off.

The interview segment reveals a more tender side of Bill and Hillary, one that we have seen more of in recent months. Hillary has expressed her excitement over her new role as grandmother, telling People magazine in a cover story interview: "But part of what I've been thinking about, is everything I'm interested in and everything I enjoy doing – and with the extra added joy of 'I'm about to become a grandmother,' I want to live in the moment."

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After years of fulfilling public service roles — and being under intense media scrutiny — it's no surprise that both Bill and Hillary Clinton want to wind down and enjoy their twilight years together — and without the stress of being in charge of the free world. But that dream may be more Bill's than Hillary's. It's true that the former Secretary of State hasn't made any definitive declarations about a presidential run, but her on-going media tour reveals that Hillary has an itch to keep going.

Just last week, Hillary sat down with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show to discuss current global and national affairs, ranging from the conflict in the Gaza Strip to the death of American democracy. Hillary was relaxed and confident as she, to paraphrase Bill's words, outlined her clear ideas on how she would handle these pressing matters.

"People look to us. Our system has been the beacon for so many years," she told Stewart. "American culture permeated the world."

Spoken like a true presidential candidate.

Images: Getty Images (2)