Obama-Clinton Ticket in 2012? White House, Clinton Dismiss Woodward Remark That It's "On the Table"
Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET
Longtime Washington reporter Bob Woodward said Tuesday night that the possibility of a Barack Obama- Hillary Clinton presidential ticket in 2012 was "on the table," but the White House is shooting down that idea.
"Some of Hillary Clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012," Woodward said on CNN. "President Obama needs some of the women, Latinos, retirees that she did so well with during the 2008 primaries and, so they switch jobs, not out of the question."
However, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that reports the secretary of state will replace Vice President Joe Biden are "absolutely not true," CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports. Gibbs said that President Obama thinks Biden is doing an "extraordinary job" and that choosing Biden to be vice president was one of the best decisions he's made. Gibbs added that the president is "quite pleased" with Clinton's performance.
White House senior adviser David Axelrod was more blunt: "It's complete bulls**t," he said, CBS News White House correspondent Chip Reid reports.
Meanwhile, a source close to Clinton said the rumor is "the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Reid reports. The source said no one close to Clinton is pushing for that change.
There has long been chatter in Washington that Mr. Obama should make Clinton the next in line. Columnist Sally Quinn wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post in June entitled, "Hillary Clinton should be Obama's vice president."
A recent Gallup poll showed that voters may even be open to the idea of Clinton replacing Mr. Obama: 37 percent of Democrats surveyed said they would support Clinton if she were to challenge the president in 2012. Clinton has said unequivocally in previous interviews that she has no intention to run for president again, but that hasn't stopped her supporters from hoping. In fact, the first 2012 presidential ad to air on television was in support of Clinton.
Update: At the 12th Annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit today, Clinton brushed off speculation that she would replace Biden, CBS News State Department reporter Charlie Wolfson reports.
"I think the vice president is doing a wonderful job," Clinton said. "He's a great friend of mine. We work together closely. He's an expert on foreign policy, he chaired the foreign relations committee in the Senate for years and we have a great relationship, and I have absolutely no interest and no reason for doing anything other than just dismissing these stories and moving on because we have no time. We have so much to do, and I think both of us are very happy doing what we're doing."
