Monday, May 19, 2008

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged yesterday to stay in the Democratic race through the final primaries on June 3.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said on CNN's "Late Edition." Sen. Barack Obama has hoped to wrap up the nomination battle and move on to the general election as soon as possible.

Clinton said she wants the Democratic National Committee rules panel to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations, giving a boost to her campaign, when it meets May 31.

Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. James Webb of Virginia and Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware left the door open to serving as a vice presidential candidate.

Biden appeared more open to the idea than Webb. "Anybody that's asked by their nominee to be their running mate, you'd have to consider it. How could you just blow it off?" Biden said on ABC's "This Week."

Webb, on NBC's "Meet the Press," would not rule out serving as No. 2 but said he's "not that interested."

President Bush's warning last week about a senator who thought war with Nazi Germany could be averted by talking to Hitler continued to spark debate. Some saw the comment as an attack on Obama, who has said he would talk with leaders of Iran. Bush aides said that wasn't the case.

"What's the alternative to talking with a country that's building a nuclear weapons, attempting to, that in fact is helping kill Americans by supporting elements in Iraq that are killing Americans?" Biden asked. "You either talk, you go to war or you maintain the status quo."

But Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), appearing on "Fox News Sunday," said Obama said he would "meet personally and without preconditions. That's not what former presidents have done. And they certainly haven't met with state sponsors of terrorism."

By Zachary A. Goldfarb