Sen. Clinton Delays Decision on 2008 Bid

Senate Armed Services Committee member, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., studies the Iraq Study Group's report on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006 during a hearing of the committee to discuss the report. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (Dennis Cook - AP)

ROME, N.Y. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday she won't make a decision about running for president until after the first of the year.

During a visit to an aircraft maintenance facility at the former Griffiss Air Base, Clinton confirmed she is talking to people in New York and across the country about a possible run for president in 2008. It was the first time Clinton publicly confirmed what her aides and fellow Democrats have been saying about a possible presidential run.

"I'm talking to people who have opinions about what our country needs to do going forward and whether or not I make any decisions, I can't really confront until after the first of the year," Clinton said.

The former first lady said she had not yet decided whether to form a presidential exploratory committee, but that technical requirements of federal election law might require her to do so if she continues to consider a presidential run.

"I'm certainly interested in what happens to our country," she said when asked if she was interested in being president. "I'm looking at where our country is, where I would like to see it go, listening to people who think I might make a contribution to that."

Asked if she would make a good president, Clinton said, "obviously if I make a decision to pursue it, that would be one of the conclusions I reach."

Regarding Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a possible rival for the Democratic nomination, Clinton said the warm reception Obama has been getting around the country, including a stop in New Hampshire on Sunday, is "terrific."

Clinton, however, wouldn't say whether she thought Obama should run for president.

"That's going to be up to everybody to make a decision," she said. Asked if Obama would make a good president, Clinton chuckled.

"We just have to take one day at a time right now," she said. "I'm just excited there's a lot of enthusiasm for Democrats around the country."

Clinton was in Rome for the announcement that the airline JetBlue will begin sending 20 percent of its planes to a maintenance facility located on the former air base.

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