I'm not running for some Americans but for all Americans.
Every political contest is hard, that's part of the DNA in America. We make it really tough to run for and hold the highest and hardest job in our country.
It wasn't until 1998 that I ever seriously thought about running for office. And I didn't make up my mind to do that until 1999, and then I ran for the Senate. It was really hard for me.
I've always thought that the role of citizen, the role of advocate, were as important in our democracy as running for office.
I think if you were to talk to women who have run, both successfully and unsuccessfully, nearly all of them would say, "You learn so much." You learn about yourself, what you're capable of doing.... And it doesn't have to all happen when you're young - I mean, one of the most powerful women in American politics is Nancy Pelosi. She had five children. She didn't go into politics until her youngest child was in high school.... That's one of the great things about being a woman in today's world: You have a much longer potential work life than our mothers or our grandmothers did.
