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Bill Clinton on Hillary Clinton: ‘I don’t know’ if she’s running

Posted at 9:45 AM, Sep 21, 2013
and last updated 2013-09-20 22:37:39-04

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Some say total openness is the key to a healthy marriage. But it appears, for now at least, Hillary Clinton isn’t telling her husband whether she has her eye on running for the White House in 2016.

“I don’t know what she’s going to do,” Bill Clinton told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

In an exclusive interview, the former president pleaded ignorance when asked if his wife and former Secretary of State would vie for the nation’s highest office in 2016. Clinton told Zakaria that, while some people may know Hillary’s intentions, he’s “not one of the people who does.”

The political hype machine has been stoking the proverbial speculation furnace over the former New York senator’s presidential ambitions since before Barack Obama coasted to a re-election victory over Mitt Romney last year. Prominent Democrats in Congress have already called for Clinton to enter the race and vowed to support Hillary with both their votes and their checkbooks.

Still, Clinton emphasized that even if Hillary has made a decision one way or the other, there’s plenty of time for her to change her mind.

“I think she would be the first to tell you that there is no such thing as a done deal, ever, by anybody,” the former president said.

Despite a tension-filled exit from the State Department, highlighted by her contentious turn in January in front of the Senate Foreign Relations panel on the Benghazi fallout, Bill Clinton said his wife’s tenure as the country’s top diplomat underscored her strengths as a leader.

“People across the political spectrum finally got to see her the way those of us who know her see her,” Bill Clinton said. “She shows up for work every day, gets stuff done and is very strong about it.”

Fareed Zakaria’s exclusive interview will air this Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET on CNN.