U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to attendees of the 'Take Back America' conference in Washington, June 13, 2006. (File/Reuters)   Jan. 21 - Declaring "I'm in to win," Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton launched her 2008 presidential bid that could make her the first female president of the United States.

 

Clinton, the wife of former president Bill Clinton, lashed out at President George W. Bush in a video on her website as she ended years of speculation over her political ambitions to declare she was joining the race, according to AFP.

 

"I'm in. And I'm in to win," she said in a video on her website.

 

"As a senator, I will spend two years doing everything in my power to limit the damage George W. Bush can do. But only a new president will be able to undo Bush's mistakes and restore our hope and optimism," said Clinton, 59.

 

Clinton, just beginning her second term representing New York in the Senate, announced she was taking the key first official step for the race for her party's nomination and the White House with the formation of a campaign exploratory committee.

 

She joins a field of six other Democrats who have taken initial steps toward vying for their party's nomination to run for president in 2008, including Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), an Illinois senator hoping to be the first black president, according to AFP.

 

Clinton's announcement closed speculation dating back to her first run for Senate in 2000 that she was keen to move back into the White House and replace Bush, who is serving a second and last four-year term.

 

An Illinois-bred corporate lawyer who attended prestigious Yale Law School, Clinton put Americans on notice early in her husband's 1992 presidential campaign that she was "not the kind of woman who stays at home baking cookies."