Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the press this week that she would like to see a female president of the United States during her lifetime, but that it was unlikely to be herself. Instead she insisted she was more than ready to 'get off the high wire' of top-level politics.

'I hope so. I really want to see that in my lifetime,' Clinton reportedly said when asked about the prospects of a woman taking America's top job during a town hall meeting at a girls school in India's Kolkata.

According to the New York Post Clinton praised India's 'great display of women empowerment' referring to the prominent role women have played in Indian politics over the years, admitting that in the US, "we still have a pretty hard glass ceiling that has not been broken at the presidential level."

Secretary Clinton then reiterated that she was not interested in another presidential run in 2016.

'I have been active in high-level politics for last 20 years. I feel it's time for me to get off the high wire,' she said. 'I would like to come to India and wander without streets being closed and a lot of security.'

Besides, Clinton added, the path to the US presidency was extremely challenging, especially for women.

'I was very excited to run for president. I was very honored and pleased with the votes I got. But our system is very difficult to navigate, for men and women, but particularly for women. There are two races - money race and vote race, Clinton said.

'A Candidate has to raise millions of dollars during the election, and I myself raised tens and millions of dollars used in my campaign. I think we have to keep trying till the final glass ceiling be broken.'

Some observers believe that when 2016 finally comes around she may still surprise us all by throwing her hat in the ring. Even former president Bill Clinton said recently that he would be 'happy' if she decided to run but he thought it would be unlikely.

'I believe that she's being absolutely honest with you when she says she doesn't think she'll go back into politics,' he said. 'But if she comes home, and we do this William J. Clinton Foundation stuff for the rest of our lives, I'll be happy; if she changes her mind and decides to run, I'll be happy.'

In a televised interview on Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden joked that he could team up with Secretary Clinton in 2016, before adding, 'I don't know whether I'm gonna run, and Hillary doesn't know whether she's gonna run.'