Democratic minority leader says former secretary of state is 'the best qualified person that we've seen' for the presidency
Nancy Pelosi is praying for Hillary Clinton to run for the White House in 2016, the former House Speaker said on Friday in an early heavyweight endorsement for the recently retired secretary of state.
The House minority leader was speaking in Little Rock, Arkansas, ahead of a ceremony to mark the renaming of the Little Rock airport as the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.
"I pray that Hillary Clinton decides to run for president of the United States," the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Pelosi telling a public event. Pelosi, a long-time champion of women's rights, described Clinton as the best qualified of the potential candidates in recent years.
Clinton, who retired earlier this year as secretary of state, has not yet said whether she intends to run in 2016 but all the signs indicate that she will, barring an unforeseen event such as a health scare. The 65-year-old was hospitalised last year, for treatment to remove a blood clot.
Although it will be late next year or early 2015 before the potential candidates indicate whether they will run, preparing the ground begins much earlier. The vice-president, Joe Biden, is at this stage thought to be Clinton's main rival, despite lagging well behind her in the polls. He is due to speak on Friday at the Democratic party's annual Jefferson Jackson dinner in Columbia, South Carolina, where the first primary is scheduled to be held, around January 2016.
Biden is also to attend Congressman Jim Clyburn's World Famous Fish Fry, another event on the circuit for would-be presidential candidates. Biden's son Beau confirmed to the New York Times last month that the vice-president is considering a run, but has not yet made up his mind.
On Thursday Emily's List, the biggest organisation in the US promoting women in politics, launched a national Madam President campaign, to put a woman in the White House. It aims to build a base of voters committed to electing the first US woman president. Although it does not name Clinton, there are no other women candidates, Democratic or Republican, on the horizon for 2016. Emily's List is to hold events in the next few months in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada – states that help determine the party presidential nominations.
The Emily's List president, Stephanie Schriock, stressed that there were lots of capable women leaders with the potential to run but added: "I have to say there is one name that seems to be getting mentioned more than others. We do not know if Hillary is going to run, but we are hopeful that she may."
The airport ceremony in Little Rock attracted mainly state and local officials. The Little Rock municipal airport commission voted last year to rename the airport, in order to recognise three decades of service by the couple to the state and nation. The new name is above the airport entrance.
Clinton, who is working on a book about her time as secretary of state, has several speaking engagements lined up that will attract media attention. She is to speak on US economic recovery at a major Clinton Global Initiative event in Chicago in June which will also be addressed by the New Jersey governor, Chris Christie – a potential Republican presidential nominee.
Pelosi, speaking to a crowd of several hundred in Little Rock, was applauded when she said Clinton was well-qualified for the White House. "Nobody has been first lady and senator and now secretary of state. Putting everything aside that she is a woman, she'd be the best qualified person that we've seen."
Pelosi stressed she had no inside knowledge about whether Clinton planned to run, but added: "Think of the message it sends to women in the world. The most powerful figure in the world is a woman, and she also happens to be the most qualified for the job."
Pelosi reiterated several times that she has "no knowledge of anything except my prayers" with regard to a potential Clinton run.
The political reporter Phil Rucker, in a lengthy article in the Washington Post, sees Biden's trip as a sign that he wants to run for president but is sceptical about his chances if pitted against Clinton.
He quotes the veteran Democratic presidential strategist Robert Shrum, regarding Clinton: "Because she's a Democrat, I can't say she's the elephant in the room, but she's certainly the dominant donkey. If she decides to run, it'll be almost impossible to prevent her from being the nominee. If she doesn't run, I think Biden's the odds-on favourite."
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday found Clinton with 65% among Democrats and independents against only 13% for Biden and New York governor Andrew Cuomo on 4%. If Clinton was not to run, Biden would jump to 45%, with Cuomo on 15%. Other Democrats who could be in the mix include the Maryland governor, Martin O'Malley, and the Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick.