Clinton says she won't run again, but hopes to see female US president

May 6, 2012: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holds a sari during an Anti-Human Trafficking event in Kolkata, India. (AP)

KOLKATA, India – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday she has no desire to make another run for the White House but hopes to see an American woman president in her lifetime.

Politely turning aside questions about her political intentions at a town hall event in Kolkata, Clinton said she really wanted to see "that final glass ceiling" broken.

Clinton, who sought the Democratic nomination four years ago and barely lost to Barack Obama, noted that the American political process is difficult and heavily dependent on fund raising, which makes it hard for any candidate to succeed.

Still, she told her audience, "I think that there will be an election that will elect a woman."

As for herself, she says she is done with the political high wire and looks forward to life as a private citizen.

"I would like to come back to India and just wander around without the streets being closed," she said. "I just want to get back to taking some deep breaths, feeling that there are other ways i can continue to serve."