NEWSWEEK INTERVIEW: Hillary Clinton - New York Senator 'I'm Never Going to Get Out of Scrutiny,' Says Clinton on Whether She'd Hesitate to Run for President to Avoid Scrutiny of Public Life NEW YORK, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- When asked whether she might not hesitate to run for president to avoid having her private life once again held up to public scrutiny, New York Senator Hillary Clinton tells Newsweek, "I'm never going to get out of scrutiny." Clinton also fails to knock down a comment former President Bill Clinton made recently on "Good Morning America" about his wife's political future: "She's now where I was in 1988. When I didn't run [for president] in 1988, I thought I would never get another chance to run because I really thought the Democrats were going to win...So we'll just see." Responding to her husband's quote, Clinton says, "That's a statement of the obvious; you never know in life." And asked to describe her relationship with her husband, Clinton tells Newsweek "It's the same as it's been for 32 or 33 years." (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040725/NYSU008 ) If fellow Democrat John Kerry should win the White House, he would upset any plans Clinton has of running for president herself in four or even eight years, reports Contributing Editor Melinda Henneberger in the August 2 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, July 26). Her situation these days, as one Democrat who knows her well tells Newsweek, "is that whether or not she ever gets to run for president is in the balance and she's on the sidelines. It's like she's the second-string quarterback." In that position, "Do you want your team to win the championship, or do you want the guy [who's in the game] to get injured? It's certainly a fair question." But in her interview with Newsweek, Clinton rails against President George W. Bush's efforts to undo the Clinton legacy and leaves little doubt that she is pulling for her team. "I'd like some time off to sit on a beach or take a hike, but I don't think the Republicans ever rest!" she says. "The president is giving up his vacation, so we know it's serious." She continues: "I do get agitated and energized. But I don't want to wake up on Nov. 3 and think I haven't done everything I can...And I'm wild that there may be more problems in the electoral system." Clinton is on the road for Kerry because "she's a real trooper and a real professional," says New York Rep. Charles Rangel, who was irate when the Kerry campaign initially neglected to offer Senator Clinton a speaking role at the convention. "I don't think she was an early supporter, but she's with him now, and they need her...she cannot be ignored in national politics," he says. Though friends say Senator Clinton was not happy when it seemed as though she would not be speaking, she says that's not the case: "I've said from the beginning, I'll do whatever I'm asked." Of the idea that Clinton herself sees the current ticket as her future competition, she insists, "People keep imputing meaning to me I don't put out." Clinton says of Kerry, "I'm delighted he's going to be the president. He's the perfect man for this moment, a serious man for a serious time." (Read Newsweek's news releases at http://www.newsweek.msnbc.com/. Click "Pressroom.") http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040725/NYSU008 DATASOURCE: Newsweek CONTACT: Kirsty McDonald of Newsweek, +1-212-445-4078 Web site: http://www.newsweek.msnbc.com/

Copyright