Senator Hillary Clinton declined to say whether she was in the running to be secretary of state, a day after a reported meeting with president-elect Barack Obama in Chicago.
Mrs Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, this week emerged as a candidate for the chief US diplomatic post or another job in the coming Obama administration.
In introductory remarks at a speech in Albany, New York, Mrs Clinton did not confirm or deny news reports that she had a secret meeting with Mr Obama on Thursday.
"I'm not going to speculate or address anything about the president-elect's incoming administration. And I am going to respect his process and any inquiries should be directed to his transition team," Mrs Clinton said.
The Obama transition office refused to comment.
Mr Obama defeated Mrs Clinton in a sometimes bitter duel for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Then he picked Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate instead of Mrs Clinton, a decision that angered her ardent supporters and widened a rift in the party that Mr Obama and Mr Clinton later worked hard to heal.
Considering Mrs Clinton for secretary of state would mean Mr Obama was expanding his search beyond other candidates mentioned for the job, such as Massachusetts senator John Kerry, a Democrat who lost the 2004 presidential election to George W. Bush, and Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican who backed Mr Obama over Republican John McCain this year.
Mr Obama has been closeted all week in meetings in his transition office as he prepares to take over the presidency on January 20th.
New Jersey Democratic governor Jon Corzine said on MSNBC that Mrs Clinton would be great at the job.
"She probably knows every major foreign leader. There's already a relationship where she can sit and talk directly about the problems that exist either on a bilateral or multilateral basis," he said.
Mr Corzine would not address speculation that he is a candidate to be Mr Obama's treasury secretary.
Reuters