Hillary Clinton 2016: Democrats Hope; Pelosi Says 'I Pray' For Her To Run

Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's hasn't announced whether she will run for president in 2016. However she already has a wealth of supporters. "I pray that Hillary Clinton decides to run for president of the United States," former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, said at a lecture in Arkansas.

Pelosi fawned over Clinton's career that included a New York senatorship and a stint as US Secretary of State. "She participated in history as...an active first lady," the San Francisco liberal said, "[Clinton worked] with such dignity...representing our country [as Secretary of State], in a way that I don't know that anybody can do," Pelosi continued.

The Weekly Standard reported that Nancy Pelosi said Hillary Clinton would be more qualified than any previous chief executive of the United States. Her words this week contradict what the outspoken Speaker has said in past elections.

"If the votes of the superdelegates [in the 2008 Democrat Primary] overturn what happens in elections, it would be harmful to the Democratic Party." Pelosi was referencing the fact that then-candidate Barack Obama was leading in the delegate count in March 2008. Her position all but showed Pelosi's "preference for Obama-and lack of enthusiasm for Clinton," as the New York Observer wrote in 2008. Throughout the 2008 elections, there was evidence that the then-Speaker was "cool" to and relatively disinterested in the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency.

Now, the daughter of former Baltimore Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro has apparently changed her tone on the idea. Famous for her "pass the bill so you can find out what is in it" line during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, Pelosi has now called Clinton, "the best qualified person that we've seen [in recent years]," according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

In addition to Nancy Pelosi, Maria Cuomo-Cole, sister of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., and daughter of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, D-N.Y., stunned observers when she too endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. "In honor of my daughters, I'm supporting #MPOTUS [Madame President of the United States]", Cuomo-Cole tweeted. The incident is vexing to some, as Cuomo's brother, Andrew, has been reportedly mulling a run of his own in 2016. The EMILYs List organization is also reportedly supporting a possible Clinton run.

Possible Republican include former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., a favorite among social conservatives, Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a Tea Party favorite. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also has been reportedly thinking about running for the Republican nomination.