Obama says Clinton is welcome to stay in race

by Amy Judd | March 29, 2008 at 03:48 pm

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Senator Barack Obama stated today that Hillary Clinton is welcome to stay in the presidential race as long as she wants to, and expressed his confidence in the fact that Democrats will look past their bitter battle and choose the rightful winner.

"My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as shewants. Her name is on the ballot and she is a fierce andformidable competitor," said Obama, adding that the notion thatDemocrats have been split by the prolonged nominating contest"is somewhat overstated."

Clinton, a New York senator, on Friday vowed to stay in theWhite House race, rejecting mounting pressure from someDemocratic leaders to bow out and let the party focus ondefeating the presumptive Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. JohnMcCain, in the November general election.

Clinton trails Obama in the race for 2,024 Democraticnominating delegates. But she says she can still beat theIllinois senator and that all Democrats should get a chance tovote.

At rallies on Saturday in Indiana and Kentucky, crowdsobjected loudly when Clinton mentioned calls for the Democraticprimary contest to conclude.

"There are some folks saying, 'well, we ought to stop theseelections,"' she told a rally in Indianapolis.

"I didn't think we believed that in America. I thought weof all people knew how important it was to give everyone achance to have their voices heard and their votes counted,"Clinton said.