"I'm in it to win it," she said in a YouTube video posted on January 21, 2007.
But even though a second Hillary Clinton for president campaign is all but certain, she and those close to her are debating when she should jump in the race, potentially delaying her entry by months.
There is no waiting for Republicans, who are engaged in a furious behind-the-scenes scramble for advisers and donors. Mitt Romney, Republicans' nominee in 2012, announced Friday he would bow out after just three weeks on the presidential speculation treadmill. Three Republican senators, two current governors and one former governor have all made active moves toward campaigns.
There could be ten or more Republican candidates by this summer. That might be when Hillary Clinton gets around to officially moving toward a campaign, if she heeds some confidantes, who are privately arguing for an announcement in July to coincide with the start of the third fundraising quarter. Delaying until the summer is an idea that is said to be gaining momentum against those who want to stick to the plan for an April start date.
The possibility of the delay is very real but still unsettled.
"I would say it's 40 percent," in the direction of those arguing for a delay, said one Democrat who supports a spring debut for Clinton's presidential campaign. Another Democrat who saw merits in both time lines put the odds of a delay at 50 percent.
Democrats on both sides of the debate spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity so they could make their case without upsetting Clinton or those close to her for talking openly about internal deliberations.
Some Clinton loyalists worry that as the increasingly crowded Republican race heats up, the attacks on her could begin to stick without an apparatus in place to answer them.
The liberal superPAC American Bridge has been countering Republican attacks on Clinton's behalf but many Democrats think it's no substitute for a campaign messaging operation.
"They're doing terrific research," said one, "but they don't know what her specific policy agenda is going to be. She should get in and start putting together a substantive policy agenda so the attacks that are going to begin to come from every single Republican who is jumping in to the race can be answered."
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Advisers split on Clinton's launch date