Hillary Clinton Cites Florida Recount, Tells Nigerians: 'We Have Our Problems, Too'

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a town hall meeting while traveling in Nigeria Wednesday. While discussing the importance of free and fair elections, she cited the 2000 Florida recount, including the fact that then-candidate George W. Bush was the brother of then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as the recount went on. "So we have our problems, too," she said. Clinton also said that Barack Obama's appointment of her to his Cabinet after their own heated battle for the presidency showed what is possible in a healthy, functioning democracy.

Her remarks, via the traveling pool report, are below:

"I know a little about about running in elections, and I have won some elections and I have lost some elections. And in a democracy there have to be winners and losers. And part of creating a strong democratic system is that the losers, despite how badly we might feel, accept the outcome. Because it is for the good of the country we love.

"And of course in my country, the man that I was running against and spent a lot of time and effort to defeat asked me to join his government. So there is a way to begin to make this transition to free and fair elections in 2011.

"Our democracy is still evolving. You know, we had all kinds of problems in some of our past elections, as you might remember. In 2000, our presidential elections came down to one state where the brother of the man running for president was the governor of the state. So we have our problems, too."

Some countries in Africa, including Zimbabwe and Sudan, continue to struggle to establish democratic governments. Nigeria will hold nationwide elections in 2011.