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Posted: March 31, 2008 1:50 PM
Clinton Vows to 'Finish What We Started' and Stay in Race
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After a message from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean last week that the long road to naming a Democratic nominee could damage the party, Sen. Hillary Clinton assured voters she will not drop out of the race until everyone has “a chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted.”

“I know there are some people who want to shut this down, and I think they are wrong,” Clinton said Saturday in an interview with the Washington Post. “I have no intention of stopping until we finish what we started and until we see what happens in the next 10 contests,” she said, adding that she will also continue to pursue seating delegates from Michigan and Florida, who were stripped of their representation for breaking DNC rules and holding early contests.

Clinton, who trails Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama by 130 total delegates is pushing hard to make up the deficit by pushing for Michigan and Florida, both states she won. She’s also working to mobilize the support of more Democratic super delegates, a category where she currently leads Obama 250 to 218.

Speaking at the California State Democratic Convention in San Jose this weekend, former President Bill Clinton defended his wife and answered calls for her withdraw by saying, “we are going to win this election if we just chill out and let everybody have their say,” according to the San Jose Mercury News.

On Friday, Dean expressed concern that the nominating process’s length could leave the victor and the Democratic Party too battered to take on presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain in the fall.

“You do not want to demoralize the base of the Democratic Party by having the Democrats attack each other,” Dean said, according to the Associated Press. “Let the media and the Republicans and the talking heads on cable television attack and carry on, fulminate at the mouth. The supporters should keep their mouths stuff about this stuff on both sides because that is harmful to the potential victory of a Democrat.”

Obama, speaking in Pennsylvania, said Clinton “can run as long as she wants,” according to the Washington Post. “She is a fierce and formidable competitor, and she obviously believes she would make the best nominee and the best president.”