NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, in her first public appearance since joining the 2008 White House race, said on Sunday she wanted to become U.S. president because she was "worried about the future of our country."

The former first lady, appearing at a health clinic in Manhattan to promote expanded health insurance for children, faced a mob of journalists eager to quiz her on her historic campaign to be the first female U.S. president.

Clinton, 59, announced her widely anticipated bid to seek the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on Saturday with a statement on her Web site declaring: "I'm in. And I'm in to win."

"I'm worried about the future of our country, and I want to help put it back on the right course so that we can work together to meet the challenges that confront us at home and abroad," she said.

"I am best-positioned to be able to do that, and that's why I'm running," Clinton added.

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