HILLARY Clinton has returned to the public stage for the opening scene in what many expect to be a carefully plotted performance concluding with another presidential try.
The high-profile venue: the Kennedy Center in Washington on Tuesday night.
Several dozen mostly student-age supporters of a Clinton presidential run rallied outside, brandishing blue-and-white "I'm Ready for Hillary" placards.
But the event inside was strictly nonpartisan: an awards gala for an international women's rights organisation Clinton helped create.
For Clinton, the engagement marked her re-emergence in public since she left her job as secretary of state two months ago.
The audience of several thousand included former campaign aides and supporters, as well as colleagues from the Bill Clinton and Obama administrations.
She called it "a little bit like a family reunion".
"Looking around this room, I know that it's filled with friends and colleagues and advocates and extraordinary women and men who understand the importance of this work," Clinton said.
"Many of us have worked and travelled together for decades. We've shared struggles and successes and even some foxholes over the years."
She made no allusion to her future, instead focusing on familiar themes from her work on women's issues.
She was joined at the event by Vice President Joe Biden, whose own moves are being viewed as a possible lead-up to a 2016 bid.
Most Democrats consider it unlikely both would run, with Biden likely to do so only if Clinton doesn't.
Clinton congratulated Biden on Congress' recent renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which Biden helped craft as a senator.
The vice president returned the compliment, calling her service as secretary of state "magnificent".
"There's no woman like Hillary Clinton, and that's a fact," he said, to enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Biden's remarks included a vigorous defence of the need to make women's rights an integral part of US foreign policy.
"Too many times in the past we have been cowed by the notion that we do not interfere with other cultures and their practices, particularly when it comes to gender. Those days are over," he said.
In Democratic circles, the assumption is Clinton will be a candidate as long as she is healthy.
Early polls suggest she might be the most formidable nonincumbent to seek the Democratic nomination in the modern era.
Clinton has yet to say what her plans are. Her husband, former President Clinton, has said he doesn't know what she will do.
But her decision to endorse same-sex marriage last month was widely viewed as a clue.
In typical Hillary Clinton fashion, it came out of the blue in a five-minute videotaped statement posted online by a gay rights organisation, without advance notice.
With her service as a first lady, US senator and secretary of state, the presidency would be the ultimate political achievement for Clinton, who would break the "glass ceiling" as the first female president.
The high-profile venue: the Kennedy Center in Washington on Tuesday night.
Several dozen mostly student-age supporters of a Clinton presidential run rallied outside, brandishing blue-and-white "I'm Ready for Hillary" placards.
But the event inside was strictly nonpartisan: an awards gala for an international women's rights organisation Clinton helped create.
For Clinton, the engagement marked her re-emergence in public since she left her job as secretary of state two months ago.
The audience of several thousand included former campaign aides and supporters, as well as colleagues from the Bill Clinton and Obama administrations.
She called it "a little bit like a family reunion".
"Looking around this room, I know that it's filled with friends and colleagues and advocates and extraordinary women and men who understand the importance of this work," Clinton said.
"Many of us have worked and travelled together for decades. We've shared struggles and successes and even some foxholes over the years."
She made no allusion to her future, instead focusing on familiar themes from her work on women's issues.
She was joined at the event by Vice President Joe Biden, whose own moves are being viewed as a possible lead-up to a 2016 bid.
Most Democrats consider it unlikely both would run, with Biden likely to do so only if Clinton doesn't.
Clinton congratulated Biden on Congress' recent renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which Biden helped craft as a senator.
The vice president returned the compliment, calling her service as secretary of state "magnificent".
"There's no woman like Hillary Clinton, and that's a fact," he said, to enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Biden's remarks included a vigorous defence of the need to make women's rights an integral part of US foreign policy.
"Too many times in the past we have been cowed by the notion that we do not interfere with other cultures and their practices, particularly when it comes to gender. Those days are over," he said.
In Democratic circles, the assumption is Clinton will be a candidate as long as she is healthy.
Early polls suggest she might be the most formidable nonincumbent to seek the Democratic nomination in the modern era.
Clinton has yet to say what her plans are. Her husband, former President Clinton, has said he doesn't know what she will do.
But her decision to endorse same-sex marriage last month was widely viewed as a clue.
In typical Hillary Clinton fashion, it came out of the blue in a five-minute videotaped statement posted online by a gay rights organisation, without advance notice.
With her service as a first lady, US senator and secretary of state, the presidency would be the ultimate political achievement for Clinton, who would break the "glass ceiling" as the first female president.
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