Hillary Clinton leaves door open to staying longer at State Department

Hillary Clinton, in an interview published Thursday, left the door open to staying on as Secretary of State longer than expected.
 
It is “unlikely” that she will stay on at the State Department past January, Clinton told the The Wall Street Journal.
 
Clinton does not plan to stay on as Secretary of State if Obama wins a second term, but in the interview, she indicated for the first time that current events might play a role in pushing back her departure date.

The turmoil in Libya is front and center on Clinton’s desk. The secretary’s reputation took a hit when she took responsibility for the security breach that occurred before the terrorist attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last month.
 
She told CNN earlier this month, “I take responsibility” for failings that ultimately led to the attack on the American facility in Benghazi and the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.
 
President Obama later said that as Clinton’s boss, the blame lies with him, and he emphasized Clinton's successes as head of the State Department.
 
"She has done a great job. I would love for her to stay," he told “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno on Wednesday. "I suspect that it is time for her to spend a little bit more time with her family."

Clinton told the newspaper, "A lot of people have talked to me about staying."

Obama is one of those people, but he told Leno she has resisted "my begging."
 
Clinton also denied once again that she has any interest in running for president in 2016.
 
"I have ruled it out," she told the Journal. "It's important for me to step off this incredibly high wire I've been on ... to take stock of the rest of my life."

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