Vilsack says Clinton would do ‘incredible job as next president’

JOHNSTON - If the country knew Hillary Clinton the way he does, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack thinks voters would be very comfortable knowing she would 'do an incredible job as the next president.”

However, the former Iowa governor stopped short of endorsing Clinton, who is expected to formally enter the race for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president Sunday.

'I've had this extraordinary opportunity as secretary of agriculture to actually work with Secretary Clinton,” Vilsack said Friday after taping Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press.”

Based on his brief campaign for the 2008 presidential nomination, which lasted about two months, Vilsack said he's probably the last person who should be advising anyone seeking the office. However, he hopes his longtime aide and Cedar Rapids native Matt Paul, who has left his USDA communications post to run Clinton's Iowa campaign, will structure the campaign 'in a way in which people get to know her because I think if they do they'll get to like her.”

'She's extraordinarily warm. She's funny. She's really focused. She's intelligent. She's hardworking, and she cares deeply about this country and the people of this country,” Vilsack said.

It will be important that Clinton, who finished a close third behind Barack Obama and John Edwards in Iowa's precinct caucuses in 2008, connects with people, Vilsack said.

'You have to be able to connect with folks, you have to be able to understand where they're coming from, which requires listening, ... and you have to work incredibly hard, harder than I think anybody really fully appreciates,” he said.

Iowans, Vilsack added, are ready for their task of evaluating the candidates. One of the things he learned from his brief campaign was how seriously Iowans take their first-in-the-nation responsibility.

'It's a very important time and, obviously, the people of Iowa have a very important responsibility to make sure they test the candidates. I'm sure they will,” Vilsack said. 'Iowans are ready. Iowans want to do their job. They want to help the country make the right decision,” Vilsack said.

He didn't say what the right decision will be, noting it would be premature to endorse anyone because no Democrats are officially running.

'I will just say there are many people in the Democratic Party who I think are well-qualified to run for president,” he said. 'I will say that I think that this is an incredibly important decision people have to make. Having done what I've done for the last six years, I now realize how difficult this job is and what it takes to be successful in it.”

He praised President Barack Obama for establishing a foundation for 'the transformational change that a lot of folks wanted.”

'I don't think there's a real full appreciation for what has happened in this country while (Obama) has been president,” Vilsack said. 'The president has been basically reshaping the economy of this country from one that was primarily focused and financed on consumption that was fueling the economy to getting America back in the business of what I like to say making, creating and innovating. And that is when America is at its best.”

Vilsack can be seen on Iowa Press at 7:30 p.m. April 15 and noon April 17 on IPTV, 8:30 a.m. April 16 on IPTV World and at www.iptv.org.