--- title: Democratic Debate: Clinton Would Keep Some First Lady Duties description: But call on former President Bill Clinton for advice canonical: https://time.com/4156222/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-first-lady/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-20T03:52:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:29.201Z article:section: Politics og:title: Dem Debate: Hillary Clinton Would 'Pick the China' as POTUS og:description: But call on former President Bill Clinton for advice og:url: https://time.com/4156222/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-first-lady/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d641498048482c3/6988763e196cf44d100398f0/clinton-flowers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3600 og:image:height: 2025 og:image:alt: Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate In New Hampshire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dem Debate: Hillary Clinton Would 'Pick the China' as POTUS twitter:description: But call on former President Bill Clinton for advice twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d641498048482c3/6988763e196cf44d100398f0/clinton-flowers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton: I'll 'Still Pick the China' as President > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f9fef801-8c3e-4c7a-9421-87d3207cd2cb&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Democratic Debate in Less Than Four Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Democratic Debate in Less Than Four Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MP9tBH0u.m3u8) (4:00)  _Published 2015-10-14. In case you missed it_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 20, 2015 3:52 AM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 20, 2015 3:52 AM UTC Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she would probably still pick the flowers and china for state dinners if she were to be elected president, just like she did as First Lady in the 1990s. “I’m probably going to pick the flowers and the china for state dinners,” she said. But she said she would “turn to him as prior presidents have” for advice. During a lighter point in Saturday’s debate, the former First Lady addressed a question that lingers in the back of many voters’ minds during the campaign: Who would take on the role as First Lady if a woman is elected president? [Read More: Democrats Clash in Final Debate of 2015](http://time.com/4155432/democratic-debate-third-data-breach/?xid=homepage) Clinton, who held the exclusive position for eight years while her husband served as president, said the role of First Lady has been “defined by each person who’s held it.” Each, she said, “not only did what she could to support her husband and this country” but also to promote causes she felt were important. Senator Bernie Sanders praised Clinton for her work while First Lady. She “not only did an extraordinary job” the Vermont Senator said, but she “redefined what that role could be.” ## Transcript Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Democratic candidates for President of the United States. [ APPLAUSE ] So I would change our approach to the Middle East. We need a new paradigm in the Middle East. I think being the first women President would be quite a change. Protect the main street economy from recklessness on Wall Street. I would push to separate out these too big to jail, too big to fail banks. When millions of people begin to come together, And stand up and say, our government is gonna work for all of us, not just a handful of billionaires. I would lead, working with both parties in the Congress, and working through them in the traditional way that our Constitution says. Senator Sanders, will you say anything to get elected? I think that, like most people that I know, I have a range of views, but they are rooted in my values and my experiences. [ MUSIC ] What democratic socialism is about, is saying that it is immoral and wrong that the top one tenth of one percent in this country own almost 90 %, almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 %. We need to separate the casino speculative mega bank gambling. We have to ensure with our money Me from the commercial backing, mainly reinstating glass [ UNKNOWN ]. And that's a huge difference on this stage among us as candidates. I did. I'm with both Senator Sanders and Governor O'Malley in putting a lot of attention onto the banks. And the plan that I have put forward would actually empower regulators. Is to break up big banks if we thought they posed a risk. But I wanna make sure we're gonna cover everybody. Not what caused the problem last time, but what could cause it next time. Senator, senator- Congress does not regulate Wall Street. Wall Street regulates Congress. There's no doubt that when Putin came back in and said he was going to be president, that did change the relationship. We have to stand up to his bullying and specifically in Syria. I will do everything that I can to make sure the United States does not get involved in another quagmire like we did in Iraq. The worst foreign policy blunder in the history of this country. I believe that as President I would, not be so quick to pull for a military tool, I believe that a no fly zone in Syria, this time actually, Secretary, would be a mistake. You have to enforce no fly zones, and I believe especially with the Russian airforce in the air it could lead to an escalation because of an accident, that we would deeply regret. [ MUSIC ] Do I think that a gun shop in the state of Vermont that sells legally a gun to somebody and that somebody goes out and does something crazy that that gun shop owner should be held responsible? I don't. Is Bernie Sanders tough enough on guns? No. Not at all. I think that we have to look at the fact that we lose 90 people a day from gun violence. This has gone on too long and it's time the entire country stood up against the NRA. On the other hand, where you have manufacturers and where you have gun shops, knowingly giving guns to criminals or aiding and abetting that, of course we should take action. It's fine to talk about all of these things and I'm glad we're talking about these things. But I've actually done them. It's time to stand up and pass comprehensive gun safety legislation as a nation. [ APPLAUSE ] The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails. Thank you. I'm not taking a backseat to anybody on my values, my principles. And the results that I get. When you have 11 million undocumented people in this country we need comprehensive immigration reform. If there would be a major difference between my administration and the Obama administration it would be in the use of executive authority. In this debate we tried to deal with some of the very tough issues facing our country. That's in stark contrast to the Republicans, who are currently running for President. 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