If Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016, she'll likely use her potential role as the nation's first female commander-in-chief as a campaign issue, according to Jay Cost, a staff writer for The Weekly Standard.
"It certainly appears that it will be the centerpiece of her campaign," Cost told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"That's basically how she went about it in 2008. Of course, Barack Obama undercut her on that front."
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Just how big the gender issue becomes also depends on how the Republicans react to it
"We don’t know how that gender based appeal is going to work in the general election," Cost said.
"Similarly, we don't know how the Republicans are going to respond to it and whether or not they have a female candidate who could actually accomplish that."
Clinton, the former Secretary of State, will definitely have some major baggage to deal with should she throw her hat in the ring, according to Cost.
"She's inextricably linked to the Obama administration, certainly will be perceived as the heir apparent," he said.
"She has the ability to some extent to carve out an independent identity but she nevertheless has to speak to the Obama record and public dissatisfaction with it."
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