Hillary Clinton talks Benghazi, Gates, 2016

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the “biggest regret” from her time as the nation’s top diplomat was the 2012 attack on Americans in Benghazi.

During a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the National Automobile Dealers Association, Clinton called the loss of four Americans in the attacks “a terrible tragedy” and a “great personal loss.”

Clinton did not address criticism by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who wrote in a new memoir that Clinton opposed the troop surge in Iraq for political reasons. But she did appear to defend President Barack Obama, whose administration Gates paints as micromanaging and overly concerned with domestic politics.

“I think the real takeaway from Bob’s book … is that he ended up admiring both President Bush and President Obama,” she said, saying that both presidents had different styles but admirable conviction in their decision-making.

The possible presidential contender continued to say that she is “not thinking about” her plans for 2016.

“I have to say, I don’t know,” she said when asked about her political future. “Not a very satisfactory answer, I know.”

“I’m not thinking about it,” she said. “I am trying to get other people not to think about it. I will think about it in the future sometime, but right now let’s think about what we have to do to continue building on our success.

One title that she is looking forward to, however, is one far removed from the Oval Office.

“I really can’t wait, to be honest,” she said of the possibility of becoming a grandmother. “But that’s not my decision."

In her remarks to the auto dealers group, Clinton waxed eloquent about her own family's love of cars, but conceded that she hasn't been behind the wheel since she was first lady. 

"The last time I actually drove a car myself was 1996, and I remember it very well," she said. "Unfortunately, so does Secret Service, which is why I haven't driven since then."

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/27/22468690-hillary-cl...