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Tim Russert: Tell me you heard of the Dennis Thatcher Society?
Bill Clinton: Yeah, he used to be the object of jokes on late-night show.
Tim Russert: He was the firstman of Great Britain when Margaret Thatcher was the prime minister.
Bill Clinton: And a very nice man he was.
Tim Russert: And firstmen all around the world formed the Dennis Thatcher Society. Are you about to apply?
Bill Clinton: No, I,I can't answer that. I,I don't know the answer to that.I,I ,You know Hillary's got this reelection coming up. And I have always said the other people, so my family gonna observe the rule that I observed in my life ,you know. you look past the next election,you may not get past the next election. She's got, she's got her service ratified, for she cann't even entertain this. I think she will be reelected and I think she will be reelected 'cos she's done a really good job. And I know I'm biased, but I've got pretty good judgment about what makes a good senator and I... she's really been. I knew she'd be good ,she's been better than I thought she would. she's been effective for your area of New York, upstate New York, she's been effective as the first Newyork senator ever on the Armed Services Committee, she's been effective for New York city on healthcare in the aftermath of 9.11. I think she's been great ,but she's got to go through a big campaign. And, then, she'll have a decision to make like probrobly a dozen of other democrats will..and what ever she decides, I'll be for,but I think we've got to get to this campaign first.
Tim Russert: She should avoid making a pledge that she will serve another full six-year term.
Bill Clinton: Yeah, I think she should, she should say ,she wants to be judged on both her record and her plans for the future. But I think ,you know for, for figures that are large, figures in their parties who honestly don't know and can't know this early whether they are gonna run. We have no idea what facts will unfold. I don't think they should make commitments. President Bush shouldn't make a commitment when he ran for reelections governor of Texas. And he was remarkably candid, he said, you know the voters will have to take this into account if it bothers them , but I,..You know I think that that's where big figures in both parties are in a position where two years in advance and I think they will, they may think they won't. But the truth is they don't known because there can be lots of intervening events. So I think she should just run, put her service out there, put her plans for the future out there and trust the voters of New York to make a judgement.
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