Hillary Clinton Admits Being A ‘Little Bit Crazy’ To Run For President

Hillary Clinton claimed her family’s financial status was near poverty level, after her and former president Bill Clinton left the White House. Hillary received a lot of criticism for her comments describing the family’s financial situation.

Earlier last year, Hillary Clinton said this about her family’s economic circumstances.

“You have no reason to remember, but we came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt. We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea’s education. It was not easy. Bill has worked really hard. And it’s been amazing to me. He’s worked very hard.”

Later, Clinton admitted her remarks had been “inartful.”

Clinton’s claim of being dead broke after leaving the White House offers a different perspective. Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business is one of the top-ranked schools in the United States. Assistant Professor Jeffrey Hoopes at the university said Hillary Clinton is stretching how the term “dead broke” is generally understood.

“Almost any president leaving office can expect tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars of future earnings as a result of their having been president. Speaking, consulting, board positions, and so on, are all very lucrative.”

Since leaving the White House, Hillary Clinton has done very well. She is now making over $250,000 to speak at public and private universities. In addition, the Washington Post reports Bill Clinton was paid $104.9 million for speeches.

As far as the Clintons being “dead broke,” Hillary is partially correct. According to their federal financial disclosure in 2000, Hillary and Bill Clinton had debts close to $10.6 million. However, her remarks were stretching it a bit.

Clinton corrected herself by saying the following while on ABC’s Good Morning America.

“Let me just clarify that I fully appreciate how hard life is for so many Americans today. It’s an issue that I’ve worked on and cared about my entire adult life. Bill and I were obviously blessed. We worked hard for everything we got in our lives and we have continued to work hard.”

Republicans said Hillary Clinton’s remarks about her wealth and the struggles of the middle class shows that she is conventional, calculating, and struggling to connect with voters.

Political strategist Kevin Madden had this to say about Hillary Clinton and her running for President.

“I think it’s even more clear that she’s running, but it’s also very clear that she hasn’t improved at all as a candidate since 2008.”

Last year, Hillary Clinton said this during an interview on PBS NewsHour.

“Well, you have to be a little bit crazy to run for president, let me just put it like that. You have to be so totally immersed and so convinced that you can bring something to that office.”

[Photo courtesy of Jim Young/Reuters]