Hillary Clinton: Barack Obama Will Be Ready on Day One

Oct. 21, 2008— -- As the presidential campaign enters the homestretch, Sen. Hillary Clinton hit the trail in Nebraska, Tuesday, in support of Sen. Barack Obama, whom she called her friend.

Clinton questioned Obama's experience during the campaign, but in an interview with "Nightline" co-anchor Cynthia McFadden she said that she was now committed to helping him win the White House.

"I was running against him," she said. "I mean, it would be like saying to somebody who just lost the playoffs ... to get into the World Series, 'Well, you know, are you going to root for the team from your league?' And, you know, 'Yeah, I'll get around to it.' ... It's a human experience and, obviously, a lot of human emotion."

Clinton said that after the "intense experience" of the primary, she needed to recharge before returning to campaign on behalf of her former opponent. After "getting a little sleep, taking a few long walks, I was back in the fray and very happy to be doing everything I can for him," she said.

Reflecting on her own historic campaign for the presidency, Clinton said that she had never thought of herself as "the woman candidate, although obviously I was," and that she hadn't anticipated "the historical burden that I was carrying."

When asked about Gov. Sarah Palin, Clinton said that she didn't mind comparisons with the Republican vice presidential candidate, but wouldn't say whether she thought Palin represented a positive step forward for women.

Issues, Clinton said, are "fair game," but "I think that both Barack and Joe [Biden] were very smart, after an initial kind of misstep, in pulling back and not criticizing Governor Palin personally."

Sen. John McCain's campaign has been criticized for raising personal attacks against Obama, in referencing his relationship with former 1960s radical Bill Ayers. McCain initially defended his decision, but the campaign later backed off that approach. Clinton said she wouldn't "make a value judgment" on how another campaign was run.

"He gets to run his campaign however he chooses," she said, "But I don't think that he's been very effective in making the case for new leadership and the kind of separation from the Bush policies and the Republican ideology that has been so bad for America."