From first lady to first woman president!

She has finally announced her candidacy for the president of the United States of America. In a short video message in her campaign website, she said on Sunday, "I'm running for president." It is easy to guess who she is. She is none other than Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, a former senator and a former secretary of state. She added, "Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion, so you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead, and stay ahead… Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked in favour of those at the top."

She tried once in 2008 also but finally yielded in favour of her opponent in the race, Barack Obama. Having served as secretary of state for four years under President Obama, she declined a second term. It was a wise decision. It gave her ample time to do her homework well this time. She released her memoir, "Hard Choices," in June, 2014 and subtly set her candidature in motion. Hillary crisscrossed the country signing copies of her memoir in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C and also appeared on TV interviews. She also campaigned for the Democratic candidates for the 2014 election to the Congress, though the outcome of the election was not very encouraging for the Democrats. National TV channels took the launching of her book seriously and debated her prospects in 2016.

She is the first Democrat to announce the candidacy and has already been endorsed by President Obama. "She was a formidable candidate in 2008. She was a great supporter of mine in the general election. She was an outstanding secretary of state. She is my friend." Obama said this at a regional summit in Panama and added, "I think she would be an excellent president." She is sure to get one more important endorsement from her husband and former President Bill Clinton, considered to be the most popular living former president.

Complimenting Hillary, Bill Clinton once told voters before his election as president of the US for his first term that they would get two at the White House for the price of one. With two major important endorsements and no other serious candidates in the race, Hillary Clinton can be sure to get her party's nomination.

What are her prospects? Senators Ted Cruz from Texas and Rand Paul from Kentucky are already in the race for the Republican nomination. Ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, both Republican, are also likely to run. As far as personal credentials are concerned, the Republican candidates are no match for Hillary Clinton. Her opponents tried to discredit Hillary by raising questions first about her income from paid lectures and later about the use of her private email account for official purpose while she was the secretary of state but apparently failed. The Americans hardly pay any attention to such issues which do not affect them directly.

The issues the US voters are likely to consider are her personal credentials, the US economy and to some extent the performance of President Barack Obama. The US unemployment rate in March was 5.5%, down from 5.7% in October, 2014. The quarterly GDP growth rate has been positive and substantial since the beginning of 2012, except for the first quarter of 2014. President Obama took a few important policy decisions, including one on immigration which may help Hillary to get the popular support of ethnic communities like the Latinos, Asian Americans, African Americans and the mixed races. The normalisation of relations with Cuba and Iran may also have a positive impact on the election.

Last but not the least, there is the issue of gender. If Hillary is nominated, she will be the first woman candidate to run for the White House. The gender issue may, therefore, be an important factor. The turnout of women voters was higher than that of male voters in the 2008 US presidential elections and many of them may like to see a woman president at the White House in 2017.

From all considerations, the prospect of the Clintons returning to the White House by exchanging their roles looks very bright indeed. The Democrats presented the first Catholic president John F. Kennedy, and the first president of colour Barack Obama. Why shouldn't they present the first woman president and create history once again?

The writer is a retired nuclear engineer.