Michelle Obama says `definitely` not entering politics after White House

USPA News - U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday said she will "definitely" not enter politics after her family leaves the White House in 2017, ending speculation that she could follow in the footsteps of predecessor Hillary Clinton by running for the U.S. Senate. Speaking at the White House Working Families Summit in Washington, D.C., an event to promote a modern workplace with family-friendly policies, Mrs.

Obama ruled out any future political career when asked by ABC anchor Robin Roberts about her plans for after she leaves the White House. "It will not be political. No, it definitely will not be," the first lady said. "It will be mission-based, it will be service-focused." Nonetheless, Mrs. Obama said the United States should have a female president as soon as possible. "I think this country is ready. This country is ready for anyone who can do the job," she said. "What we have learned is that the person who can do the job doesn`t have a particular race or gender or background or socioeconomic status. The person who should do the job is the person who`s the most qualified." Speculation about Mrs. Obama`s possible political ambitions intensified this month when "White House Dossier" editor Keith Koffler wrote an op-ed after observing the first lady`s high-profile activities in recent months. He said that a run for the White House was unlikely, but noted a possibility that Mrs. Obama could seek to take the seat of U.S. Republican Senator Mark Kirk from Illinois, who is up for re-election in 2016. "First Lady Michelle Obama is everywhere. She`s traveling to China. She`s raising money for Democrats. She`s issuing plaintive tweets seeking the rescue of the kidnapped Nigerian girls," Koffler wrote earlier this month. "She`s wading uncharacteristically deep into the Washington political mud pit to defend her school lunch program against Republicans. ... So what`s with the bolder profile?" Former First Lady Hillary Clinton, after leaving the White House in 2001 at the conclusion of her husband`s presidency, also ran for the U.S. Senate and won, making her the only first lady to have ever been elected to public office. Clinton, who has remained an enduring figure on the U.S. political stage, is now seen as a likely candidate for the 2016 presidential election.