Obama praises Clinton: ‘We’re buddies’

By KATIE GLUECK

President Barack Obama says he and Hillary Clinton are “buddies” and that she would be “very effective” should she run for the White House again.

The president’s remarks, aired Friday on ABC’s “Live with Kelly and Michael,” come amid an intensifying rollout for Clinton’s upcoming book, which recounts her tenure as secretary of state during Obama’s first term. In an author’s note for the memoir “Hard Choices,” Clinton praises Obama’s handling of the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

“You know, Hillary and I — we’re buddies,” Obama says in the ABC interview. “I think because we ran in the longest primary in history, you know, and our staffs were doing battle politically, the perception was that this was always kind of a marriage of convenience when she came in as secretary of state. I always admired her. As soon as she got here, she couldn’t have been more effective, more loyal and since that time, we’ve become really, really good friends.”

Clinton has said she is considering a 2016 bid for the White House, but has not made a decision yet. Her book, due out June 10, was reviewed by the White House within the past few weeks, and her team was careful to avoid appearances of separation from the president, people familiar with the process said. The pair had lunch at the White House on Thursday. “I don’t know what she’s going to decide to do, but I know that if she were to run for president, I think she would be very effective at that,” Obama said. “I’ve been blessed to have some people around me like her, and Vice President Biden, and my chief of staff who are just great, hardworking, effective people, and I love them to death.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/barack-obama-praise-hillary-clinton-buddies-2016-live-kelly-ripa-michael-strahan-107254.html#ixzz33DrityEn