And I'm ready to offer my advice.' But 'At the end of the day, it is the president who has to set and articulate policy.'

'I'm privileged to be in a position where I am the chief adviser, I'm the chief diplomat, I'm the chief executor of the policy that the president pursues, but I know very well that a team that works together is going to do a better job for America.'

Clinton stressed she understood 'that the election is over' and she has no designs on the White House.

To push home the point that her ties with Obama were on an even keel, Clinton revealed she had a portrait in her State Department office of William Henry Seward, who served as president Abraham Lincoln's wartime secretary of state. Seward had been seen by many as the top contender for their party's nomination in 1860, but joined Lincoln's cabinet after the defeat, in a scenario that helped create the team-of-rivals concept in American politics.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)