President Obama and Hillary Clinton sat down for a joint interview on 60 Minutes from the White House, as Clinton exits as secretary of state. “The president's high praise will no doubt stoke speculation about Clinton's own chances to succeed Obama in 2016,” NBC’s Michael O’Brien writes. “Many Democrats hope that Clinton, a former rival of Obama's during the 2008 primary, will seek the nomination; the outgoing secretary of state leaves office at the height of her popularity.”
Clinton, though, clearly left the door open to a 2016 run: “I think that, you know, look, obviously the president and I care deeply about what's going to happen for our country in the future. And I don't think, you know, either he or I can make predictions about what's going to happen tomorrow or the next year,” Clinton said, responding to a question about her political future.
The AP: “President Barack Obama lauded Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as one of his closest advisers and said their shared vision for America’s role in the world persuaded his one-time rival — and potential successor — to be his top diplomat while he dealt with the shattered economy at home.” More: “Both Obama and Clinton batted away questions about future campaigns, but the joint interview — the president’s first with anyone other than first lady Michelle Obama — was only likely to increase the fascination with Clinton’s future.”
Today, “President Barack Obama will meet with police chiefs from three communities that have experienced mass shootings, part of his administration’s push to address gun violence,” the AP adds. “Obama is drawing attention to the worst shootings of 2012, inviting the police chiefs from: Aurora, Colo., where 12 were killed in July; Oak Creek, Wis., where six died in a Sikh temple assault: and Newtown, Conn., scene of the most recent mass tragedy that left 20 first-graders dead.”
The New Republic does a Q and A with Obama. Asked if he’d ever fired a gun, Obama said: “Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time.”
He also said this about whether he’d let a son play football due to the recent news about concussions: “I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football. And I think that those of us who love the sport are going to have to wrestle with the fact that it will probably change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence.”
About whether the Republican “fever” has broken. “Not yet, obviously,” Obama said. “I never expected that it would happen overnight. I think it will be a process. And the Republican Party is undergoing a still-early effort at reexamining what their agenda is and what they care about. I think there is still shock on the part of some in the party that I won reelection. There's been a little bit of self-examination among some in the party, but that hasn't gone to the party as a whole yet.”
Obama also floated making reforms to Medicare: “If we can get through this first period and arrive at a sensible package that reduces our deficits, stabilizes our debts, and involves smart reforms to Medicare and judicious spending cuts with some increased revenues and maybe tax reform, and you can get a package together that doesn't satisfy either Democrats or Republicans entirely, but puts us on a growth trajectory because it leaves enough spending on education, research and development, and infrastructure to boost growth now, but also deals with our long-term challenges on health care costs, then you can imagine the Republicans saying to themselves, ‘OK, we need to get on the side of the American majority on issues like immigration. We need to make progress on rebuilding our roads and bridges.’”
He also said this: “I think at least leaders like myself—and I include Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi in this—are willing to buck the more absolutist-wing elements in our party to try to get stuff done.”


I think President Obama was simply trying to honor Clinton's service, as she leaves office. He's gracious that way. I really enjoyed seeing them together. It reminded me how much better this administration has been than the Bush administration, at managing foreign affairs. What was the relationship between Rice and Bush? The blind leading the blind, I think.
I hope and pray he endorses her.
Hillary 2016
The President and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were lovely in the interview with 60 minutes. The sure presence of our greatest President in history with Hillary Clinton was just breathless. I don't understand why they don't tour together so everyone can feel what I feel.
Love,
Amy B. Portland, ME
OK, that cracked me up. You gotta admit, though...we'd rather see Clinton and Obama in the same interview than Condi and W.
Actually Republicans enjoyed the spectacle quite a bit, A Failed President and a Failed Secretary of State,in their little staged propaganda skit,(that Obama ordered 60 Minutes to do), telling each other how great they are, because no-one else would, while their little Marxist -Socialist Media Lapdog enabler, looks on lovingly, Yes it is going to provide quite a bit of campaign material in the future as the debt continues to explode,our credit rating is downgraded again, there is no recovery, the reality of massive tax increases, Obama care , the Arab spring, Iran and North Korean nuclear arms development,etc. sinks in, as well as Al Quieda continuing to expand, more Americans killed, besides an Ambassador, an act of war perpetrated against the United States , that this dynamic duo not only do nothing about, but even ended up making the asinine statement"What does it matter",(I am afraid We well see that other terrorists think it does matter quite a bit, dead Americans in Mali killed with arms taken from Libya ring a bell),the chosen progressive economic model, Europe( sanctioned and supported by guess who?), explodes in debt and default, and everybody starts to realize it and looks at these two, The Incompetent in Chief and his Clerk of State, as the authors of the above listed disasters and remembers them telling each other what a great job they did!(with apologies to Percy Bysshe Shelley), Yes Republicans! Look upon Our Works and dispair! Forward Comrades!
I like seeing President Obama and Secretary Clinton together, it must have driven republicans even crazier than they already were. This had to send the little paranoid republicans back into the closet curled up in the fetal position.
These two together is the republicans worst nightmare.
I agree with Amy and Mo. BUT I think it was also a nice way to spike the football after an awesome week for progressives!
While I voted for Obama in '08 and '12 I certainly would consider voting for Hillary Clinton in 2016. She has shown what she is made of and I like what I see. She has restored America's good standing in the world after the Bush Administration did all they could to tarnish it. I like the way she took on the snarking of some in Congress during the Bengazi hearings. She didn't cower but stood up against them. She is one strong leader and I would be proud to call her Madam President.
Adler, you will vote/tote the democratic party line...
On the claim of being a skeet shooter, nobody who does it would say "We do skeet shooting all the time" any more than an experienced skater would say "We do ice skating all the time."
The goofed choice of words is a strong signal that perhaps the president doesn't shoot skeet.
What?