President Obama will host Hillary Rodham Clinton, his one-time campaign foe who later served as his secretary of state, at lunch Monday at the White House.
Obama and Clinton will meet for a lunch in the president’s private dining room, the White House announced Sunday. Their meeting will be closed to the press.
Clinton stepped down on as secretary of state on Feb. 1, after serving for four years as the nation’s top diplomat. In the weeks following her departure from the State Department, Obama hosted Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, at a private dinner at the White House.
Clinton lost the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination to Obama after a vigorous primary campaign and is currently considered an overwhelming favorite for the nomination in 2016, should she decide to run.
As she weighs another campaign, Clinton has been traveling the country giving dozens of speeches, both paid and pro-bono, and is working on a new book.
Over the weekend, NBC entertainment executives announced the broadcast network is developing a miniseries on Clinton’s political life, from first lady to senator and presidential candidate to secretary of state. Slated for release prior to the 2016 campaign, the series will star Diane Lane as Clinton.
Several prominent Democrats have already voiced their support for another Clinton presidential run. In May, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) called Clinton the "best qualified" person for the party's nomination. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) commented last week that Clinton would "handle things probably even better" in the White House than her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Obama has not voiced support for a presidential candidate, laughing off the subject during an interview with Clinton on "60 Minutes" in January. The rare joint interview nonetheless triggered a frenzy of speculation about his preferences. Vice President Joe Biden, who previously sought the Democratic nomination twice, is also eying a possible run.
Clinton, for her part, has not signaled anything definite with regard to her presidential ambitions. Since stepping down as Secretary of State in February, she has kept busy delivering speeches to a variety of industry groups across the country, collecting $200,000 an appearance. She is widely considered the early favorite to win the Democratic nomination and polls ahead of potential Republican nominees.
据美国广播公司7月28日报道，美国总统奥巴马将于当地时间29日与前国务卿希拉里·克林顿在白宫共进午餐。白宫方面在28日对外宣布了这一消息。
希拉里于今年2月1日正式卸任美国国务卿一职，结束了四年任期，奥巴马随后在白宫专门为克林顿夫妇举行了一次私人晚宴。希拉里在2008年的民主党总统候选人选举中败给了奥巴马，如今媒体普遍认为她有望在2016年作为民主党总统候选人参加美国总统选举。
上周末，美国全国广播公司宣布，将拍摄一部反映希拉里政治生涯的电视剧，讲述她从第一夫人到参议员，从总统候选人到国务卿的历程。该剧预计将会在2016年美国大选前上映，剧中的希拉里一角将由好莱坞影星戴安·莱恩（Diane Lane）饰演。
目前已经有几位民主党的核心人物公开表示支持希拉里参加2016年的总统大选，众议院的少数党领袖、民主党议员南希·佩洛西（Nancy Pelosi）在今年5月曾称赞希拉里“最有资格”担任民主党的总统候选人，而参议院的多数党领袖、民主党议员哈里·里德（Harry Reid）在上周也曾表示如果希拉里出任美国总统，在处理事情方面可能会比她的丈夫、前总统克林顿还要出色。
奥巴马和希拉里在今年1月极其罕见地共同参加了美国哥伦比亚广播公司的《60分钟》访谈节目，在主持人问及奥巴马是否支持希拉里参加总统大选时，奥 巴马只是付诸一笑，并未给予正面回答。此次访谈引发了外界对未来民主党总统候选人的种种猜测，有人认为曾两次参加过总统候选人选举的美国副总统乔·拜登 （Joe Biden）也有可能会参加民主党总统候选人的竞选。
目前还没有明显的迹象表明希拉里对美国总统一职感兴趣，在卸任国务卿后，她一直忙于给全美各地的行业团体发表演讲，每次的出场费是20万美元。