Hillary Clinton criticises 'divisive' politics that led to deadlock

Hillary Rodham Clinton has urged Virginia voters to reject the type of "divisive politics" epitomised by this month's budget deadlock, in her first campaign-trail appearance since stepping down as US secretary of state.

Speaking at a rally in support of family friend Terry McAuliffe, who is running for governor in the November 5 election, Clinton, 65, said Virginia must lead a return to "common sense", as she alluded to the stalemate over fiscal policy that partially shut the US government for 16 days.

"When politicians choose scorched earth over common ground, when they operate in what I call the 'evidence-free zone', with ideology trumping everything else, we've seen that families ... across the country have felt the consequences," Clinton told the crowd in Falls Church, a suburb of Washington.

Clinton's 18-minute public appearance for McAuliffe, 56, who served as campaign chairman of her unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid, foreshadows many such requests she's likely to receive as she weighs a potential 2016 White House bid.

"I've been out of politics for a few years now," she told a crowd that included many past and current volunteers for Democratic candidates, some wearing "Ready for Hillary" buttons.

"I've had a chance to think a lot about what makes our country so great, what kind of leadership is required to keep it great," she said.