‘Will she, won’t she’ questions surround Clinton

>> set us up to win. while you... ...set us up to lose. oh, a classic win-lose-win situation. exactly.

>> i really don't believe that that's something i will do again.

>> you know your husband wants you to run in 2016 . what do you say to him?

>> he wants me to do what i want to do, and he has made that very clear, and some of what i want to do is just kick back. stoo kick back. will she or won't she? no two political figures are more popular in our new nbc news- wall street yurnl poll than bill clinton and hillary clinton . bill clinton has a magic 60% approval rating. secretary clinton trails just two points behind that. way ahead of president obama at 53%, and the democratic party at 44%. joining me now is former congresswoman ellen. she was also the state department 's top arms control official and margaret carlson , political columnist with ome both of you.oming to us from margaret , what is your take? you've watched, you know, these clips with barbara walters , the interview, and what -- even barbara walters couldn't get more out of her, although she always gets the best answers. she says she wants to watch hgtv, you know, that's home and garden tv, i think, ladies. i don't know. it's beyond me. tell me about this.

>> for those that do watch it, yes, that's home and garden, and, by the way, i'm with her, sister.

>> i sort of can't see that with these numbers. i mean, clearly, she deserves time off and a good break and a lot of fun and travel if she wants to and no travel, but what do you think she's going to do?

>> well, andrea, you and i covered the bhous together, and hillary clinton is a completely different person to me from the way she was then. you know, we watched her every move. she was criticized for almost everything. wearing the head band , not wearing the head band , hellry care, and on and on. now she can do no wrong. i mean, she has become, you know, that woman in the dark glasses on the jet going around the world and just letting loose all the time to my it's an amazing transformation, but maybe i just didn't get her back then. when she says i really want to kick back, what i think sshgs you know, life looks different when you are rested, and it will take about three months, and it's like saying, oh, have i to get organized, and then, you know, your sock drawers are all organized, and you say, well, what do i do now? she's going to say, you know, i think a year from now, yeah, i feel differently about this. i'm tanned, i'm ready, i'm rested. i'm going to take a crack at it.

>> you worked with her and saw her as a member of congress and then from the state department as well, and that iconic picture of her in the sunglasses taken by diana walker, you know, on a military jet going into afghanistan or iraq, i forget exactly which she was going into. that says so much. i mean, there's no question that she has a commanding presence on foreign policy , but these are very deeply personal choices. that was a grueling campaign.

>> yes. you know, she says beaches and speeches, and she wants to write, and she wants a rest. she deserves it. i think no one is more ready to be president someday, but frankly, you know, she deserves a chance to reassess after she's had some rest. i think it's difficult for people to know how tiring it is to be out of the country 80% of the time, to be working literally 24-7. everything has to be in perspective. she's got a loving family. she's got friends, and she's been absent for really four years. almost 20 years when you consider how much she was closetsed in the white house and in the senate. i think this is important she gets the rest, but i think that no one is more ready to be president someday, but that's her decision.

>> when margaret was talking about those days back in the white house , she was almost like hunted prey because from the very first days when they were in those primaries and new hampshire, the early primaries, and all the exploding controversy going on about his personal life and this and that and the other, and everyone wanted a piece of her, and i recall, you know, thinking often that she was not prepared. who would be prepared for that? she's a very different person now. she's at a very different stage in her life, margaret , and people evolve, and seeing it from the height says of her current popularity, also informs it differently.

>> she's very prepared now. i mean, look at what she's been through. in her own campaign, could anybody have been through more than this person in public life ? maybe richard nixon , but she's been through a lot. you know, one clue will be what does she say in her next book? how revealing is it? what kind of speeches does she give? is she going to be totally open and nothing left to lose, or is she going to be, you know, restrained and preparing for another run by not telling too much? i think that will give us some indication over, say, the next six months or so exactly -- well, not exactly, but inexactly about what her plans are. i think when i was watching barbara walters , i was thinking, you know, she doesn't really know because she doesn't know how she's going to feel. at this moment i bet she feels like she just wants a good long nap and a marathon of hgtv.

>> i could relate to that. at least the nap part of it. let's take another look at one of barbara's questions about 2016 .

>> what would it take to convince you to run in 2016 ?

>> you know, that's all hypothetical because right now i have no intention of running. i just want to -- i want to make a contribution. i always feel that's who i am and what i want to do.

>> will it be political?

>> i don't think so. i think it will be philanthropic. it might be academic. it might be business. i mean, there's a lot things.

>> all doors are open.

>> all doors are open, which is a wonderful opportunity.

>> and she could go the route of an expansion of what she's done with women's groups, with vital voices , which she started really as first lady in 1995 , when we went to beijing, and she first said that women's rights are human rights , and then it was considered very controversial. she could be part of the clinton initiative and change his foundation as well.

>> now, i think that there's all the world's opportunities are open to her, but she is a public servant at heart. she is someone who has a deep love for the american people and tremendous experience around the world and a rolodex that i think probably second to her husband's is second to no one's. i think this is really a question of get rested up, kind of assess what the world has -- how the world has changed since she's been working so hard, and what the opportunities are.

>> i tell you what has not changed, is the way women in politics are treated in temz of their appearances, because as always, there's the question of the hair. this is the way they treated it last night. barbara.

>> so i have to ask you this very personal question. your hair -- [ laughter ]

>> i know that it's one of the great fascinations of our time. i do not travel with any hair dresser , and i'm not very competent myself. i've been admitting that for years, which should be obvious to everyone. it just got to be really burdensome to try to find a hair dresser in some city somewhere, so i said enough. we're just going to try to go with as simple as possible.

>> nobody asked the men that.

>> have you noticed?

>> yeah.

>> margaret , nobody asks the men.

>> no, they don't. hey, solidarity with hillary. let's all pull our hair back. you know, it is an extra burden, and, you know, you don't want to be asked about it all the time. she's terribly good humored about it, and, you know, she said in an earlier interview, i can't remember, she said, listen, if i want to put my hair in a ponytail, i'm putting it in a ponytail. you go, girl.

>> i remember her saying once during the 2008 campaign that one of the things she was looking forward to at the end of that campaign was she she could let her hair grow and not worry about being so in fashion all the time.

>> that's right.

>> it's true. i mean, i think that those of us that have been in public life are subject to a lot of questions about how we look and what we're doing, but the truth is no one is ever more prepared and though one is ever more able to represent the american people than she has been and no matter whether her hair is short or long, she's still the best.

>> and a team player with the team of rivals.

>> that's right.

>> thank you very much. this is fun, and margaret .