America
Hillary Clinton 'would make an excellent president': Obama
Panama City, April 12
Hillary Clinton would
make "an excellent president", US President Brack Obama said a day
before Clinton's much-touted launch of her run for the White House in
2016.
Obama's former secretary of state and 2008 primary
opponent, Clinton was set to announce her candidacy for the Democratic
nomination on Sunday, the Guardian reported on Sunday.
The
president was speaking in Panama City, after an historic meeting with
Cuban President Raul Castro on the sidelines of the Summit of the
Americas and before a diplomatically delicate meeting with the
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The president said Clinton
-- who was the First Lady for eight years, then senator for New York and
Secretary of State in Obamas's first term in office -- "was a
formidable candidate in 2008, she was a great supporter of mine in the
general election, she was an outstanding Secretary of State, she is my
friend."
"I think she would be an excellent president," Obama said.
Obama
hedged his bets over whether Clinton would indeed run, being careful
not to appear to steal her thunder. But at a lengthy press conference
during which he was asked about Clinton, he said: "The one thing I can
say is, she's going to be able to handle herself very well in any
conversation or debates around foreign policy."
"And her track record with respect to domestic policies is I think one that cares about working families."
"If she decides to run," Obama said, "and she makes an announcement, she's going to have some strong messages to deliver."