Will Hillary Clinton be a good president of the United States?
It is still more than a year before the presidential elections but President Barack Obama is already hinting that Hillary would certainly fit the position.
Obama said in an exclusive interview with ABC News that Hillary, a former Secretary of State, would be a "formidable candidate" and a "great" president if she decides to run for the 2016 polls.
Obama told George Stephanopoulos, an anchor at ABC News, that he is constantly talking with Hillary. He also revealed that Hillary might have different things or plans in mind.
"She's not going to agree with me on everything. And, you know, one of the benefits of running for president is you can stake out your own positions," the president was quoted as saying.
Obama, in the interview, also admitted that he would love his successor to be a Democratic.
"I am very interested in making sure that I've got a Democratic successor...So I'm going do everything I can, obviously, to make sure that whoever the nominee is is successful," he told ABC News.
Obama also said that there are "a number" of other possible candidates from the Democratic who can be a "great" leader for the country. He however did not name any of them. Hillary Clinton remains to be the only potential candidate he has talked about.
The president also said that he thinks that many of the Americans nowadays want a "new car smell" in the government.
"I think the American people, you know, they're going to want -- you know, that new car smell. You know, their own -- they want to drive something off the lot that doesn't have as much mileage as me," Obama told Stephanopoulos.
The Hill citing ABC News' interview reported that Obama described Hillary as a "friend" and an "outstanding secretary of State."
When asked if he will help Hillary in the upcoming elections, the president said that he would not want to "jump the gun" as she has not announced anything yet.
The Associated Press said that the Clinton camp has not yet commented on Obama's remarks.
AP described Hillary as a "powerful force in Democratic politics." She started out as the first lady of Arkansas and then became US' first lady after her husband Bill Clinton was put into office in 1992. After Bill's two terms ended, Hillary decided to run for the Senatorial race. She then won and earned a seat.
In 2008, she lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Obama. She became the Secretary of State during Obama's first term. According to AP, Hillary earned positive views during their July Associated Press-GfK poll, gaining eight favorable views out of 10 Democrats.
The Hill also said that Vice President Joe Biden has also hinted for several times that he would like to become the next president.
AP said that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose father, George H. W. Bush, and brother, George W. Bush, also became presidents in the past, might also run for the presidential race.
AP also said that Jeb Bush was the "most popular" among the possible presidential candidates, getting more than 50 percent of favorability from the Republicans. Some have also viewed Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul favorably, it noted.