WASHINGTON — Mayor Bill Clinton?
The New York Times said it put that question to the outgoing two-term president in an interview in the Oval Office this week, amid rumors Clinton was considering running for mayor of New York after leaving the White House Jan. 20.
"Not any time soon," Clinton told the newspaper in response.
Clinton has said little about his post-White House plans, fueling wild speculation in the press about his future.
A British newspaper reported earlier this year that the president was eager to settle near Oxford University, prompting former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart to joke that Clinton would go "only after he finishes his term as president of the Intergalactic Federation from his home base on Mars."
Pressed by reporters in September about his plans, Clinton dismissed suggestions that he would spend his time writing a book about the impeachment scandal. "I've thought about it enough already," he said.
Rumors spread this week that Clinton would follow in the footsteps of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who last month won a U.S. Senate seat from New York, by launching a mayoral bid.
Pressed for comment, White House spokesman Jake Siewert quipped that the president "already has the second-toughest job in American politics. Why would he want the toughest?"