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Hillary Clinton: Obama Passes 3AM Test
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 7, 2009
Modified Jun 7, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 7, 2009
Modified Jun 7, 2009
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Hillary Clinton gave her first Sunday talk show interview as Secretary of State to George Stephanopoulos, who asked the inevitable: Did President Obama pass the 3 a.m. test, referring to her infamous campaign ad that asked, "It's 3 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"
Clinton answered, "Absolutely. And, you know, the president, in his public actions and demeanor, and certainly in private with me and with the national security team, has been strong, thoughtful, decisive. I think he's doing a terrific job. And it's an honor to serve with him." Stephanopoulos also asked Clinton about joining the Obama cabinet, after the bitter campaign. Clinton says she didn't expect to be part of the White House:
"I was looking forward to going back to the Senate and, frankly, going back to my life and representing New York, which I love. And I had no idea that he had a different plan in mind...
And then, when he called and asked me to come see him and we had our first conversation, I said, "You know, I really don't think I'm the person to do this. I want to go back to my life. I really feel like I owe it to the people of New York." And I gave him a bunch of other names of people who I thought would be great secretaries of state.
But he was quite persistent and very persuasive. And, you know, ultimately, it came down to my feeling that, number one, when your president asks you to do something for your country, you really need a good reason not to do it.
Number two, if I had won and I had asked him to please help me serve our country, I would have hoped he would say yes.
And, finally, I looked around our world and I thought, you know, we are in just so many deep holes that everybody had better grab a shovel and start digging out.
Clinton's shoveling includes dealing with North Korea—she said the Obama administration might put the country back on the "terrorist state" list, given their recent actions.
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hillary clinton
president obama
secretary of state
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Team of Rivals
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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