During an interview with Vogue, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was stumped when asked if the country is ready for a female president.
“You know, I really don't know,” the former secretary of state replied in the piece titled “Will Hillary Clinton Make History?”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives an address at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on Tuesday in New York City. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
“I think it’s gotten better,” Clinton added. “But I think there still is a very deep set of concerns that people have, which very often they’re not even aware of or they couldn’t articulate. There’s nothing overt about it in most instances. People are very convinced they want to vote for the right person. And then ... you know, you get little hints that maybe they’re not as comfortable with a woman being in an executive position. Especially in a big, rough-and-tumble setting like New York City or the United States of America. But I think it’s changing. I’ve noticed a big improvement between now and the last time I ran.”
Clinton said she’s “a better candidate” during her second presidential campaign.
“Maybe that has to do with being very comfortable with what I’m doing and why I’m doing it,” she said. “And [I’m] convinced that I’d be a good president, having now watched it up close: my husband’s administration, being in the Senate — especially after 9/11 — being Secretary of State, spending a lot of time with the national security team and President Obama.”
“I just have a lot of confidence in...” she trailed off. “Some people run for president and they don’t know what they don’t know. Some people run for president and they know how hard the job is, but they may not be entirely convinced that this daunting task is one that can be taken on. I know how hard it is, and I feel very ready and very confident to take it on.”
Later in the interview, Clinton turned to her Republican rivals, arguing that the upcoming election “poses a very significant choice to the voter.”
“Do we want to build on the advances we’ve made in human rights and civil rights and women’s rights and gay rights and voting rights and worker rights ... really build on that foundation?” she said.
“It troubles me that the Republican candidates are against everything. They have such a pessimistic view of America’s future. They’re negative. They’re insulting," she said. :They’re filled with the worst kind of dismissiveness about the advances that have made a difference in people’s lives.”
“And I take seriously what they say they would do if they won,” she added. “I think everybody should.”
Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, has held fundraisers for Clinton.
