Hillary Clinton has fed speculation that she might run for the White House in 2016 by telling an audience in Canada that she would like to see a woman president in the United States in her lifetime.
"Let me say this, hypothetically speaking, I really do hope that we have a woman president in my lifetime," Mrs Clinton told a private audience in Toronto.
"And whether it's next time or the next time after that, it really depends on women stepping up andsubjecting themselves to the political process, which is very difficult."
Mrs Clinton, a Democrat who was secretary of state under President Barack Obama, a former senator from New York and is the wife of former President Bill Clinton, is said to be undecided whether to seek the presidency in 2016.
Many Democrats and Republicans in the United States are expecting her to run, although the 65-year-old Mrs Clinton has said she needed to rest after four years as a globe-trotting secretary of state.
Polls have indicated she is far and away the most popular potential Democratic candidate for 2016, and that most Americans would prefer her to several possible Republican contenders.
Mrs Clinton picked up an endorsement on Tuesday from Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who announced she is supporting a group encouraging Mrs Clinton to run for the White House.
Last week Clinton started her official Twitter account, describing herself as, among other things, a "wife, mom, lawyer, women &kids advocate."
She alluded to her future as "TBD" - to be determined.
希拉里·克林顿在加拿大说：她希望在自己的有生之年内能看到一位美国女总统上任，引发她可能会在2016年冲刺白宫的猜测。
“我的确真希望在自己的有生之年内能看到一位美国女总统上任。”克林顿夫人在多伦多说。
“无论是下一次或下下次，能否有女总统的出现都取决于女性能否抓紧投身政治事业的进程，但这个过程是非常困难的。”
克林顿夫人是民主党人，作为前参议员，在以巴拉克·奥巴马总统为首的美国政府中曾担任国务卿一职。作为前总统比尔·克林顿的妻子，据说她尚未决定是否在2016年竞选总统职位。
美国许多民主党人和共和党人都在期待着她竞选总统，虽然65岁的克林顿夫人说，她在担任周游列国的国务卿后需要好好休息。
民意调查显示她是竞选2016年总统最受欢迎的潜在民主党候选人。与其他几个可能的共和党竞争者相比，大多数美国人都更倾向于选举她。
在星期二时，密苏里参议员克莱尔McCaskill充分认可了克林顿夫人，并表示愿意支持克林顿夫人入主白宫。
上周，希拉里公布了她的官方Twitter帐户，抛开其他事情，仅将自己描述为一个妻子，一位母亲，一位律师，一个提倡保护妇女和孩子的人。”
她还提到她的未来动向仍处于“待定”中。