Argentine first lady says she's not Hillary Clinton

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- First lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina's front-running candidate to succeed her husband as president, said in her first local campaign interview Wednesday she doesn't want to be compared to Hillary Clinton or Eva Peron.

Regarding Hillary Clinton, Fernandez said, "Hillary and I have few things in common: We've both been senators, lawyers and wives of presidents, but not much else.

"I don't want to be compared with Hillary Clinton, nor with Evita Peron, nor with anybody," Fernandez added in the interview with a pro-government journalist on radio La Red. "There's nothing better than being yourself."

Fernandez followed her husband, Nestor Kirchner, as he rose from a remote gubernatorial post to Argentina's presidency in 2003, evoking similarities with Clinton as she leads a fight for the 2008 U.S. Democratic nomination.

And all Argentine first ladies since Eva "Evita" Peron are inevitably measured against the charismatic figure of a half-century ago.

In the interview, Fernandez also defended her husband's government handling of the consumer price index, which has come under fierce attack by opposition candidates. E-mail to a friend

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