‘This Week’ Transcript: Hillary Clinton’s ‘Hard Choices’

June 8, 2014— -- Below is the rush transcript of "This Week" on June 8, 2014. It may contain errors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Now on ABC's This Week, Hillary's Choice.

HILLARY CLINTON, FRM. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm going to decide when it feels right for me to decide, because...

DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Still by the end of this year?

ANNOUNCER: His biggest hints yet on 2016. New answers from Diane Sawyer's exclusive interview.

Plus, our new poll reveals Hillary's biggest weakness.

Firing back...

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We still get an American soldier back. Period. Full stop.

ANNOUNCER: The president defends his deal to free Bowe Bergdahl. As outrage grows, brand new details from our global team at Guantanamo Bay and in Qatar where the freed Taliban prisoners now live in luxury.

Plus, World Cup windup.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: World champions at last.

ANNOUNCER: We're live in Brazil as the global celebration, four years in the making, kicks off.

From ABC News, This Week with George Stephanopoulos begins now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST: Good morning, it's been a packed week in politics. And we begin with Hillary Clinton. As she set to barnstorm the country for her new memoir "Hard Choices," we have a first look at more of her exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer and our brand new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

That poll shows Clinton has a commanding lead for the Democratic nomination. Seven in 10 Democrats want her to be their candidate.

And her time as secretary of state has boosted her standing with the broader public. 67 percent of Americans think she's a strong leader. 60 percent say she's honest and trustworthy. And 59 percent believe she has new ideas for the country's future.

Now, of course, the top political question right now, Hillary's personal future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAWYER: When are you going to decide whether you're running for president?

CLINTON: You know, I'm going to decide when it feels right for me to decide, because...

SAWYER: Still by the end of this year?

CLINTON: Well, you know, certainly not before then.

I just want to kind of get through this year, travel around the country, sign books, help in the mid-term elections in the fall and then take a deep breath and kind of go through my pluses and minuses about what I will and will not be thinking about as I make the decision.

I will be on the way to making a decision by the end of the year, yes.

SAWYER: But probably not announced until next year?

CLINTON: I'm not positive about that, but I think you know the way I make decisions is that's probably likely.

SAWYER: I know it's a personal decision, but if you can do that, if you can do it, you see the path and can do it, do you have to do it?

CLINTON: I have to make the decision that's right for me and the country, and I have to make...

SAWYER: But is the party frozen in place waiting for you to make that...

CLINTON: No. I mean, no. People can do whatever they choose to do on whatever timetable they decide.

SAWYER: But on -- are they disadvantaged waiting for you, looking in your eyes every day?

CLINTON: No. I mean, Bill Clinton started running for president officially in like September/October of 1991. So, no, I just don't think that that's a, you know, a real concern. People will do what they think is best for them and whether they choose to seek the presidency or not is very personal for everybody.

SAWYER: And ultimately it has to be for you, too.

CLINTON: Right. Absolutely.