Clinton said no to Obama after he asked her to stay at State

According to a new book, President Obama asked Hillary Clinton to stay on as Secretary of State in November 2012 to mitigate the exodus of senior advisers - and to preserve a partnership that he saw as beneficial to his administration.

Politico's Jonathan Allen and The Hill's Amie Parnes report in their upcoming book, "HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton," that Obama asked Clinton if she would reconsider her decision to leave the administration during a Nov. 2012 ride on Air Force One.

"Would you reconsider, perhaps stay another year?" Obama asked, according to excerpts of the book. Clinton responded she would not, that it was time for her to move on. She originally announced in March 2011 that she did not want to serve a second term.

"Hillary had proved herself a vital ally during the first term and the pair of one-time rivals had gotten into a rhythm. Why end a good thing?" the book says. "Also, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had told Obama on Election Day that he was leaving -- meaning the president would have to find new lieutenants for both of the top seats in his war council if he couldn't convince Hillary to stay put."

Obama dropped the request, even though he had been persistent in asking Clinton to take the position after he defeated her and won the 2008 presidential election.

Clinton has been coy about her political future, saying that she will not even begin to consider another presidential next bid until sometime next year . But she has started to wade back into politics recently, endorsing and fundraising for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, a longtime family friend.

"HRC" is due out Feb. 18.