March 30, 2013 By Marcus Mabry, Ben Werschkul, Channon Hodge and Alyssa Kim The Times's Jim Rutenberg on why rumors are running rampant that the former secretary of state will go for the presidency in 2016.

?No matter what Barack Obama does, he cannot escape the shadow of his former political opponent. Hillary Clinton, back from her global travels visiting places and peoples hardly heard of on this continent, is stealing the spotlight without even touching the stage. President Obama visits the Middle East, makes history as he speaks war to Syria and Iran, and peace to Israelis and Palestinians, and the talk back home circles The Big Question: Will Hillary run? The former first lady, the former senator and now the former secretary of state is everywhere -- and nowhere to be seen. Sent away by this president upon his unlikely victory in 2008 against the Clinton machine and the inevitable first woman president, Hillary is back. Few people -- and far fewer women -- have attracted so much attention as Hillary Clinton. She carries the unique burden of being something to everyone: Loved, despised, admired, feared, a role model, a terrifying omen, politician, mother, wife, nemesis, scold, muse. S...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton adjusts her glasses during her career-capping international town hall meeting January 29. AP Photo Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's farewell online town hall, complete with live audiences and interactive connections around the globe, cost taxpayers $85,000, according to federal contract documents. The January 29 town hall, dubbed a " Global Townterview " and held at the Newseum, came after a virus sidelined President Obama's top diplomat, forcing her to cancel several trips a few weeks before she turned over the keys of the department to former Sen. John Kerry. "Due the unexpected and unforeseen cancellation of several foreign policy trips scheduled to further diplomacy abroad with key global partners as well as international audiences in key regions of the world, and due to the fact that significant time was lost, it was imperative to carry forward the foreign policy messages by connecting SecState with as man...

Why did she do it? After publicly announcing her reformulated stance on marriage for same-sex couples, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is once again back in the spotlight as the national media begins to pick way-too-early favorites for the 2016 presidential primaries. Despite the prematurity, the signs are hard to ignore. In a March PPP 2016 Florida Democratic presidential primary survey, Clinton topped the list of preferred Democratic candidates with a whopping 62% of the vote , followed by Vice President Joe Biden with 12%, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (5%), and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (3%). One would be hard pressed to assemble an early power rankings list of the top-10 likely candidates without those first two names on the board. Clintons popularity is not simply a question of name recognition, either. According to the same survey, Clinton holds an 82% favorability rating compared to only 14% unfavorability in Florida. Political commentator and former Bil...

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Glover Park Group's Michael Feldman discusses the appeal of Hillary Clinton with Trish Regan on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg) Connect With Bloomberg TV Facebook Purchase an Interview Bloomberg TV+ App ZIP is required for U.S. locations Bloomberg Television in change

?No matter what Barack Obama does, he cannot escape the shadow of his former political opponent. Hillary Clinton, back from her global travels visiting places and peoples hardly heard of on this continent, is stealing the spotlight without even touching the stage. President Obama visits the Middle East, makes history as he speaks war to Syria and Iran, and peace to Israelis and Palestinians, and the talk back home circles The Big Question: Will Hillary run? The former first lady, the former senator and now the former secretary of state is everywhere -- and nowhere to be seen. Sent away by this president upon his unlikely victory in 2008 against the Clinton machine and the inevitable first woman president, Hillary is back. Few people -- and far fewer women -- have attracted so much attention as Hillary Clinton. She carries the unique burden of being something to everyone: Loved, despised, admired, feared, a role model, a terrifying omen, politician, mother, wife, nemesis, scold, muse. S...

WASHINGTON Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is returning to the public stage with her first speaking events since leaving the Obama administration. Clinton is scheduled to speak Tuesday at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards in Washington, an event honoring female leaders around the world. On April 5, she will address the Women in the World Summit in New York, an annual event focusing on challenges faced by women and girls worldwide. Clinton has addressed both organizations previously. Clinton, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, left the State Department in February. The former first lady and New York senator announced her support for gay marriage last week in an online video released by the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign and is expected to begin a series of paid speaking engagements this spring. The Economic Club of Grand R...

Hillary Clinton will be guest of honor at the Economic Club of Grand Rapids' Annual Dinner in June. AP File Photo GRAND RAPIDS, MI Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state to President Barack Obama, will attend the Economic Club of Grand Rapids' 26th Annual Dinner this summer. The Club announced Wednesday that Clinton, a former U.S. senator for New York, will be guest of honor at the Monday, June 17, event in the Steelcase Ballroom of DeVos Place. Clinton, a Democratic favorite for president in 2016, ended her tenure as Obama's secretary of state earlier this year, returning to private life for the first time in decades. She joins the list of former secretaries of state and political notables who've either accepted invitations from the Economic Club or visited Grand Rapids in recent years. Earlier this week, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, son of late Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy, addressed an Economic Club luncheon about mental health issues. ...

No matter what Barack Obama does, he cannot escape the shadow of his former political opponent. Hillary Clinton, back from her global travels visiting places and peoples hardly heard of on this continent, is stealing the spotlight without even touching the stage. President Obama visits the Middle East, makes history as he speaks war to Syria and Iran, and peace to Israelis and Palestinians, and the talk back home circles the big question: Will Hillary run? The former first lady, the former senator and now the former secretary of state is everywhere and nowhere to be seen. Sent away by this president upon his unlikely victory in 2008 against the Clinton machine and the inevitable first woman president, Hillary is back. Few people and far fewer women have attracted so much attention as Hillary Clinton. She carries the unique burden of being something to everyone: Loved, despised, admired, feared, a role model, a terrifying omen, politician, mother, wife, nemesis, scold, muse. She is a...

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Recent policy announcements by Clinton and Paul have convinced many that they are all about the 2016 presidential campaign. Saul Loeb/AFP/ Getty Images and Charles Dharapak/AP / NPR If you have any interest in politics at all, you pretty much know two things. One, that the next presidential election, on Nov. 8, 2016, is only 1,324 days away. And two, you won't be surprised if people are focusing on it in March of 2013. Sometimes the speculation is silly, but sometimes it's not. Judging from what we've seen and heard from Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul , the speculation may be on target. The two may be miles apart ideologically but they do have at least one thing in common: both have been talked about as White House contenders from the moment they began thinking about public office, probably because of their last name. "Hillary for President" boosters date back to at least 1992, when her husband, then the governor of Arkansas, was running for president himself. Bu...

WASHINGTON No matter what Barack Obama does, he cannot escape the shadow of his former political opponent. Hillary Clinton, back from her global travels visiting places and peoples hardly heard of on this continent, is stealing the spotlight without even touching the stage. President Obama visits the Middle East, makes history as he speaks war to Syria and Iran, and peace to Israelis and Palestinians, and the talk back home circles The Big Question: Will Hillary run? The former first lady, the former senator and now the former secretary of state is everywhere and nowhere to be seen. Sent away by this president upon his unlikely victory in 2008 against the Clinton machine and the inevitable first woman president, Hillary is back. Few people and far fewer women have attracted so much attention as Hillary Clinton. She carries the unique burden of being something to everyone: Loved, despised, admired, feared, a role model, a terrifying omen, politician, mother, wife, nemesis, scold, mu...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says in a new video that she supports marriage for gay and lesbian couples, both personally and politically. "LGBT Americans ... are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage," Clinton says in a new video for the Human Rights Campaign , the largest LGBT rights organization. Check out celebrities who are out and proud Clinton's announcement comes less than a year after President Barack Obama publicly endorsed gay marriage last May. The former Secretary is strongly rumored to be considering another presidential run in 2016. Clinton said her stance on marriage was shaped in part by her and former President Bill Clinton seeing their daughter, Chelsea , get married in 2010. "I wish every parent that same joy," Clinton says. "To deny the opportunity to any of our daughters and sons solely on the basis of who they are and who they love is to deny them the chance to live up t...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A new poll shows Democrat Hillary Clinton is a heavy early favorite among Florida voters in a hypothetical 2016 presidential matchup against former Gov. Jeb Bush or U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Clinton has a double-digit lead over both of the Florida Republicans in a random telephone survey of 1,000 of the state's registered voters by Quinnipiac University taken March 13-18. The survey shows Clinton favored over Bush 51 percent to 40 percent. Florida voters prefer her to Rubio 52 percent to 41 percent, if the election were held now. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The former secretary of state, New York senator and first lady was regarded favorably by 62 percent of the respondents, including 26 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of independents.

A BBC correspondent offers an admiring insider's look at Hilary Clinton's tenure as America's top diplomat. The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power , Kim Ghattass memoir of her time as part of the press corps that traveled with Hillary Clinton during Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, provides a unique and compelling look both at Clinton as a person and at the US diplomatic process. Skip to next paragraph Subscribe Today to the Monitor Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS ofThe Christian Science MonitorWeekly Digital Edition Ghattas, a BBC correspondent, is half Dutch and half Lebanese, and grew up in Beirut during the 80s, when the country felt abandoned by a US government that allowed, or possibly even encouraged, Syria to invade. The book derives much of its strength from Ghattas's slowly coming to terms with the complexity of US diplomatic relations. For as much as many countries particularly in the Middle Eas...

Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who may be eyeing a run in the 2016 presidential election, came off the sidelines on Monday and announced her support for gay marriage. While Clinton pushed gay, lesbian and transgender (LGBT) rights during her four-year tenure as America's top diplomat, considering them human rights, she hadn't until now advocated for gay marriage. 'LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones. And they are full and equal citizens, and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage,' she says in a nearly six-minute video. 'That's why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law, embedded in a broader effort to advance equality and opportunity for LGBT Americans and all Americans.' The video was released by the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights organisation working for gays rights. It came just days after Clin...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton's embrace of gay marriage Monday signals she may be seriously weighing a 2016 presidential run and trying to avoid the type of late-to-the-party caution that hurt her first bid. Her chief Democratic rivals endorsed same-sex marriage as much as seven years ago, and it's widely popular with Democratic and independent voters. By supporting gay marriage a full two years before the next presidential primary warms up, Clinton may render the issue largely settled among Democrats, should she decide to run. But things could be vastly different in the November 2016 general election, regardless who wins the Democratic nomination. That nominee is virtually certain to support same-sex marriage, whereas there's a strong possibility the Republican nominee will not. That could be a problem for the GOP nominee if same-sex marriage becomes a prominent issue. A poll released Monday shows a dramatic shift in attitudes about legalizing gay marriage, wit...

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , a potential 2016 presidential candidate, said on Monday she backs marriage rights for gay Americans. In a video for the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign , Clinton said she supports gay marriage "personally and as a matter of policy and law." Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender "Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones, and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage," Clinton said in the 5-minute-long video posted on YouTube (http://youtu.be/6RP9pbKMJ7c). Her comments come amid a wave of similar declarations from other politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, and as the Supreme Court is considering two gay marriage cases. President Barack Obama last year announced his support for gay marriage, which is already permitted in nine of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. ...

Want more proof that Hillary Clinton is running in 2016? Anthony Weiner , the former congressman and current reigning king of political sex scandals on Twitter, isn't just filing papers and spending a lot of money on his run for New York mayor he's still bitter and apparently planning the demise of Nancy Pelosi , a scenario that he somehow thinks will only happen when a Clinton is president again." Weiner has recently been telling pals that 'when Hillary is president,' he will get his revenge," a source tells the New York Post 's Page Six . Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin , is a longtime Clinton aide and would probably know better than anybody but Bill if Hillary is planning a 2016 presidential campaign. And apparently, if Clinton were to win the presidency,one of the first things on her list... would be to help avenge Anthony Weiner? RELATED: The New York Times New DC Chief; Bon Jovi's 9/11 Tribute The "revenge" in question is apparently ...

Holland Taylor as former Texas Gov. Ann Richards during a performance of "Ann" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in New York. ( The Hartman Group / March 13 , 2013 ) By David Ng March 14, 2013 , 7:14 a.m. It was a VIP guest list that few Broadway productions could dream of. Former President Clinton and former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton paid a visit Tuesday to"Ann," the one-woman biographical play about former Texas Gov. Ann Richards that is running on Broadway. The former first couple was joined by Gabrielle Giffords , the former U.S. representative, and actress Meryl Streep . The group posed for a picture that can be viewed here . FULL COVERAGE: 2013 Spring arts preview "Ann" stars Holland Taylor as Richards, the tough-talking, liberal politician who became governor of Texas in 1991. The actress tweeted on Tuesday: "Proud night at ANN. President Clinton, Secy. of State Clinton Rep. Gabby Giffords -and, gasp, Meryl Streep - at show....

The Republican Party continued its outreach to women and minorities Friday morning by featuring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell telling a joke that compared former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with The Golden Girls . Speaking before a packed Potomac Ballroom at the Conservative Political Action Conference, McConnell said Dont tell me the Democrats are the party of the future, when their presidential ticket for 2016 is shaping up to look like a rerun of The Golden Girls. We have Rand Paul , Marco Rubio , and a slew of bright, young energetic governors ready to take America into the future, McConnell continued. And the other guys? They got Hillary and Joe Biden . The crowd laughed uproariously several minutes later, after they had finished Googling The Golden Girls on their smartphones. McConnell probably thinks he can skate on the sexism charge because he also called Vice President Joe Biden a Golden Girl, but for a party that just got clobbered with women, there seems ...

Holland Taylor as former Texas Gov. Ann Richards during a performance of "Ann" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in New York. ( The Hartman Group / March 13 , 2013 ) By David Ng March 14, 2013 , 7:14 a.m. It was a VIP guest list that few Broadway productions could dream of. Former President Clinton and former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton paid a visit Tuesday to"Ann," the one-woman biographical play about former Texas Gov. Ann Richards that is running on Broadway. The former first couple was joined by Gabrielle Giffords , the former U.S. representative, and actress Meryl Streep . The group posed for a picture that can be viewed here . FULL COVERAGE: 2013 Spring arts preview "Ann" stars Holland Taylor as Richards, the tough-talking, liberal politician who became governor of Texas in 1991. The actress tweeted on Tuesday: "Proud night at ANN. President Clinton, Secy. of State Clinton Rep. Gabby Giffords -and, gasp, Meryl Streep - at show....

McAuliffe is known to be a close ally of the Clintons. | AP Photo Close Terry McAuliffe made a veiled joke about Hillary Clinton running for president and Bill Clinton congratulated a major Democratic donor as the new ambassador to France at fundraisers for his Virginia gubernatorial campaign Wednesday night, sources in attendance told POLITICO. McAuliffe, a close ally of the Clintons who was the Democratic National Committee chairman after the Clinton years, made a quip about another campaign coming in a few years a remark that attendees took as a veiled reference to Hillary Clinton, whose friends are openly urging her to run. Continue Reading McAuliffe allies have also described, in private conversations, his Democratic gubernatorial run as something of a test run for the Clinton network of donors and supporters. Hillary Clinton herself has not said whether shes running. McAuliffe was feted at two fundraisers, hosted by hedge fund billionaire and longtime Clinton backer Marc Lasry ...

The Republican Party continued its outreach to women and minorities Friday morning by featuring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell telling a joke that compared former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with The Golden Girls . Speaking before a packed Potomac Ballroom at the Conservative Political Action Conference, McConnell said Dont tell me the Democrats are the party of the future, when their presidential ticket for 2016 is shaping up to look like a rerun of The Golden Girls. We have Rand Paul , Marco Rubio , and a slew of bright, young energetic governors ready to take America into the future, McConnell continued. And the other guys? They got Hillary and Joe Biden . The crowd laughed uproariously several minutes later, after they had finished Googling The Golden Girls on their smartphones. McConnell probably thinks he can skate on the sexism charge because he also called Vice President Joe Biden a Golden Girl, but for a party that just got clobbered with women, there seems ...

By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is the Republican best placed to compete against potential Democratic presidential candidates, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday that also underscored Democrat Hillary Clinton 's strength should she run. As Republicans gather in the Washington area this weekend to ponder their future after losing the 2012 presidential race, the poll showed how far the party has to go to regain its footing and be competitive at the national level again. The online survey found that Christie is preferred narrowly when matched up against Vice President Joe Biden , 34 percent to 33 percent, and Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo , 36 percent to 32 percent. Against Clinton, however, Christie fares far worse. The former secretary of state leads by 48 percent to 28 percent. The brash, portly New Jersey governor has not said whether he will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. A moderate ...