Buffett endorses Hillary Clinton in 2016

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNN Wednesday he hopes Hillary Clinton will become the first female U.S. president in 2016.

"I don't see how you could have anybody better qualified," Buffett told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview about the U.S. secretary of state and 2008 White House hopeful who would be 69 if elected four years from now.

Clinton lost the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 to then-Sen. Barack Obama and has served as secretary of state in Obama's first term. She has pledged to step down early in his second term, but has refused to talk about a political future.

"I like what she believes in," Buffett told the news network. "I think she's extraordinarily able and energetic for that matter in pushing those beliefs."

The Buffalo (N.Y.) News, a Buffett asset, has endorsed Clinton, who also served as U.S. senator from the state and was first lady during her husband Bill Clinton's two terms as president.

"We've barely finished a bruising, expensive campaign for president, but it's not too early to be thinking about who would make an excellent candidate for the presidency in 2016 -- particularly if there is a conspicuously capable individual already on the political scene," an editorial said Wednesday.

"There is such a candidate, and it should surprise no one that her name is Hillary Clinton."