President Barack Obama acknowledged that he's been battered by some political "dings" during his time in the White House in an exclusive interview with ABC News on Sunday, further stating that he doesn't expect Democrat Hillary Clinton to tap him for campaign appearances in a potential 2016 run.
When it comes to the upcoming 2016 presidential campaign trail, the president believes the American people want that "new car smell" where he will most likely not have a prominent role.
"I think the American people, you know, they're going to want -- you know, that new car smell. You know, their own -- they want to drive something off the lot that doesn't have as much mileage as me," Obama told ABC's "This Week" News Chief anchor George Stephanopoulos.
During the interview conducted in Las Vegas on Friday, Obama also said that he expects Clinton, who he described as a "formidable candidate" and a "great" president, to stake out political positions that may be different from his if she chooses to pursue the presidency, according to Reuters.
"She's not going to agree with me on everything," Obama said, calling Clinton a "friend" with whom he talks regularly. "One of the benefits of running for president is you can stake out your own positions, and have a clean slate, a fresh start."
Dogged by huge defeats in the midterm elections and an uncompromising relationship with Republicans, Obama said he believed Clinton would prefer to distance herself and stand independently from him.
"If they want me to do some selective things, I'll be happy to do them, but I suspect that folks will be ready to see me go off to the next thing," he said.
Clinton, who lost to Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination race and served as his secretary of state in his first term, is expected to make a decision about a 2016 presidential run in the early months of 2015.
Following Obama's executive action announcement on immigration overhaul Thursday, Clinton issued a statement in support of Obama's plan while urging Congress to "finish the job" by passing comprehensive immigration legislation. However, she has already separated herself from a host of other issues, such as wanting to arm the Syrian rebels when Obama did not, New York Post reported.
In addition, the president said "a number of other possible Democratic candidates would be terrific presidents" as well, where he would do everything he could to ensure that a member of his own party succeeded him.
"I am very interested in making sure that I've got a Democratic successor," he said. "So I'm going do everything I can, obviously, to make sure that whoever the nominee is successful."
Specifically, improving government services over the next two years would highly improve the chances of setting up a Democratic successor, he added.
"They're probably not going to be looking at me to campaign too much," Obama said of 2016 hopefuls. "You know, one of the things about our society which is great is that we don't have real long memories. And, you know, we get impatient for the next thing."
