During a speech in Bahrain two years ago, she said, “I think I’ll serve as secretary of state as my last public position and then probably go back to advocacy work, particularly on behalf of women and children.” Advocacy work would be a return to the beginnings of her legal career, when she served as a staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund in Massachusetts, but now she’d have the clout that comes with decades spent at the top of the political world.

But in another scenario, Clinton wouldn’t have to wait nearly as long before taking on an executive position. Of the possible post-secretary jobs bandied about recently, by far the most credible is president of the World Bank.

Rumors of Clinton’s going to the bank first circulated this summer, when Christine Lagarde took over the International Monetary Fund from the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Traditionally, a European and an American have headed the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, so if France gets the IMF, the U.S. is under pressure to put forward a candidate powerful enough to quiet objections from Brazil, India, and other countries that want a shot. Clinton, with her experience in the White House and Congress, and cabinet, would be a strong contender, and her longstanding interest in development work would make it an attractive position.