To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (24220 ) 3/28/2008 9:58:05 PM From: Hope Praytochange Respond to of 224749 HAMMOND, Ind. – To answer questions that have been swirling around her candidacy all day, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here in northwest Indiana – just a few miles from her Democratic rival’s home on Chicago’s South Side – to unequivocally say she has no intention of leaving the presidential race. “There are millions of reasons to continue this race: people in Pennsylvania and Indiana and North Carolina and all of the contests yet to come,” Mrs. Clinton said. “This is a very close race and clearly I believe strongly that everyone should have their voices heard and their votes counted and that includes Michigan and Florida.” Then, she added: “There is a lot still to be done and I’m looking forward to campaigning hard over the next several months.” The late-afternoon press conference came hours after Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said Mrs. Clinton “has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to.” Other party leaders on Friday fretted aloud that the nominating fight between Senator Barack Obama and Mrs. Clinton would damage the party. Mrs. Clinton brushed aside those concerns, saying she disagrees. “I think I believe that a spirited contest is good for the Democratic Party and will strengthen our eventual nominee,” she said. “We will have a united party behind whomever that nominee is. I certainly will do everything I can to make sure that we win in November.” Asked whether she believed party leaders should stay out of the race, she demurred. “We are a party of many differing opinions and strong-minded individuals,” she said. “People are free to say whatever they want and their views are all over the map.” It is worth remembering, Mrs. Clinton said, that neither she nor Mr. Obama will win enough pledged delegates to become the nominee. “I think that’s a very important fact,” she said. “Superdelegates should exercise their right and their responsibility to determine who they think would be the best president and who would be the best nominee to defeat John McCain in the fall,” Mrs. Clinton said. “That’s the way our process is set up. That’s the way it will operate.” As she prepared to depart for two more campaign events in Indiana today, Mrs. Clinton was asked to comment on a remark Mr. Obama made while campaigning in Pennsylvania. He said the presidential race was akin to a good movie, which had lasted too long. With a smile, she said simply: “I like long movies.”