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28 of those lucky people who look better—or at least not worse—with age. All of this is relevant politically because it means that in 2016, when she’s 68, she is unlikely to be written off as too old to run for president. Since the beginning of the year, Hillary has said repeatedly that she will leave office no later than early 2013 and retire from public life. In Bahrain, just before the Middle East upheaval, I heard her be more direct than ever before on the subject: “I’ve had a fascinating and rewarding public career .... I think I will serve as secretary of state as my last public position and then Ill probably go back to advocacy work, particularly on behalf of women and children, and probably around the world.” Hillary isn’t as calculating as her public image. The 2000 Senate race, for instance, was practically serendipitous. But it’s hard to believe “Clinton” and “ambition” have been fully sundered. In 2016, the Democrats are unlikely to have anyone better or more acceptable to different parts of the party. The nearer-term options are far-fetched. When Bob Woodward said on CNN last fall that Hillary’s switching jobs with Joe Biden was “on the table,” the reaction inside both the White House and State Department was to scoff. Neither has an incentive to switch. With the Iraq portfolio already in his pocket, Biden gets plenty of foreign-policy action. His bigger concern is staying on good terms with Hillary. In late 2009, he worried that their long and friendly relationship was in jeopardy over Af-Pak policy. He wanted few troops and heavy reliance on Predator drones; she wanted an open-ended, hugely expensive counter-insurgency commitment. The president ended up sending many more troops than Biden wanted— a total commitment of 100,000—but with withdrawal deadlines beginning this year that Clinton, siding with the Pentagon, opposed. To ease the tensions, Biden and Hillary stepped up their breakfasts and lunches where they call each other “dear.” HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024985