Barack Obama said Saturday that Hillary Clinton can stay in the race "as longs as she wants" and put distance between his views and those of supporter Sen. Patrick Leahy, who has called for Clinton to quit.

But Sen. Obama of Illinois, the Democratic front-runner, also seemed to align himself with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean in calling for uncommitted superdelegates to endorse a candidate soon after the final June 3 primaries in order to wrap up the race.

Meanwhile, Clinton is using Leahy's comments as ammo in her continuing campaign. She's making the issue a rallying cry and fundraising pitch and is arguing that the candidates owe it to voters to keep the campaign going.

The New York senators' supporters, in turn, have rallied behind her.

"There are some folks saying, 'Well, we ought to stop these elections,'" she said in Indianapolis Saturday. The crowd groaned in disapproval. "I didn't think we believed that in America. I thought we of all people knew how important it was to give all people a chance, to have their voices heard and their votes counted."

Both candidates now seem resigned to the likelihood that the race will drag on until Montana and South Dakota hold the final contests June 3.

Obama is leading Clinton by 157 pledged delegates, but it's mathematically impossible for either candidate to gain enough pledged delegates to lock down the nomination.

Adding to the unrest is the possibility that Obama and Clinton will split victories in the two largest remaining contests. Polls show Clinton ahead by double digits in Pennsylvania, which votes April 22 and offers 158 delegates. But polls show Obama ahead by double digits in North Carolina, which votes May 6 and offers 115 delegates.

"Nothing is going to happen before the primaries are over in June," Democratic strategist Susan Estrich said.

Obama said Saturday in Johnstown, Pa., that he thinks the notion that the prolonged contest is hurting the Democrats is "somewhat overstated," and said Clinton has the right to stay in the race. He said he "hadn't talked to Pat (Leahy)" about his remarks.

But come June, Obama said, the superdelegates should blow the whistle.

"At that point, there are no more contests and I think it is important to pivot as quickly as possible for the superdelegates ... so that we can settle on a nominee," he said. "We will have had contests in all 50 states plus several territories. We will have tallied up the pledged delegate vote. We will have tallied up the popular vote, we will have tallied up how many states that were won by who. And then at that point I think people should have more than enough information to make a decision."

That seems to echo Dean's call Friday for uncommitted superdelegates to announce their endorsements by July 1. With the pledged delegates unable to give a lock to either candidate, the superdelegates -- party leaders and insiders not bound to a candidate -- are poised to decide the race.

Clinton, though, has shown a willingness to take the fight all the way to the August convention, especially to resolve the conflict over the Michigan and Florida delegations, which were stripped after those states held early primaries in violation of party rules.

Clinton won those primaries in January, but neither candidate had campaigned there.

"I have this old fashioned idea, that the more people get a chance to vote, the better it is for our democracy," Clinton said Saturday. "There are very important upcoming contests in Pennsylvania here in Indiana, and others, and we also are going to have to come to terms with how we're going to count the votes of your neighbors in Michigan and the people in Florida who deserve to be heard as well."

In a new fundraising letter, Bill Clinton tells supporters the race is "neck and neck" and complains about the recent calls to pull out.

"My family isn't big on quitting," the former president writes.

He said Saturday while marching in a small-town parade in Pennsylvania that "people should just relax and let the process go."

Later in the day , Hillary Clinton sought to soothe those warning that the prolonged fight will hurt Democrats in November.

"We'll have a unified Democratic party and we'll go on to victory in November," she said in New Albany, Ind.

FOX News' Aaron Bruns and Bonney Kapp contributed to this report.