Former U.S. President Bill Clinton joked about his wife Hillary Clinton's much speculated 2016 campaign for president during the Peterson Institute 2013 Fiscal Summit on Facing the Future on Wednesday.
President Clinton was on stage with Microsoft founder Bill Gates when the discussion turned to the political futures of both of their wives.
"I don't think Melinda is going to run for president," Gates joked.
In response, Clinton quipped about Hillary making a second run for president, saying "She hasn't mentioned it to me, either," Clinton said, prompting laughter from the audience.
"I don't know what's going to happen, but I know this: that is the worst expenditure of our time," Clinton said.
He added that it's "frustrating" that the conversation has gone back to politics immediately after the 2012 elections.
"She's taking a role in the foundation, she's writing books, she's having a little fun being a private citizen for the first time in 20 years," Clinton said. "We need to be worried about the work at hand. All of us do. So whoever the next president is has an easier set of choices."
If the former Secretary of State did run for the White House, a recent poll in March shows that she has a clear advantage over popular potential Republican contenders like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
A Quinnipiac University survey asked American voters about nine possible general election match ups in the next presidential race revealed that the former Secretary of State bests Gov. Christie 45 percent to 37 percent. The survey also shows that the former First Lady has an even higher advantage over Sen. Rubio at 50 percent to 34 percent, while she trumps Rep. Paul Ryan 50 percent to 38 percent.
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