Hillary Clinton Says Bill Won't Serve in Her Cabinet

During a visit to the Lone Oak Little Castle diner in Paducah, Ky., Hillary Clinton was asked twice to expand on what Bill Clinton's role in the White House would be.

Clinton ignored it each time, but when asked if her husband would be in her Cabinet, she shook her head and mouthed, "No."

When Clinton entered the diner, she told the crowded, smoky room that she had already told her husband (who, she said, would be the "first gentleman") that should she win in November, "I expect him to get to work."

Yesterday at a rally in Covington, Ky., the Democratic front-runner said that she plans to put Bill Clinton "in charge of revitalizing the economy."

"He knows how to do it," she said, "and especially in places like coal country and inner cities and other parts of our country that have really been left out."

Her spokesman Nick Merrill told reporters today that she hasn't formally decided on the shape of Bill Clinton's role if she is elected president. "He has a lot of creativity and knowledge to bring to bear, particularly when it comes to the economy, and she has said many times in the past that when it comes to revitalizing certain regions or certain sectors - she specifically mentioned coal and manufacturing - that she would certainly want his advice and counsel," Merrill said.

He added, "It would be getting ahead of oneself to talk about any sort of formalized role for anyone in your administration, which she has said many times with regard to vice presidential speculation and the like, but I think that her point has been time and again that, as I said, he has a lot to offer and it would be foolish not to use that in some capacity. It has not gone any further than that."

Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton, who has always said she would seek her husband's advice as president, said she would want the former president to "come out of retirement" to play a role in her administration.