Dean in Slap at 'Neutral' McAuliffe

Second-place New Hampshire primary finisher Howard Dean blew off a directive from Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe Tuesday night, after McAuliffe urged that any candidate who hadn't won a primary race by next week should consider dropping out.

Noting McAuliffe's advice, Fox News Channel's Brit Hume asked Dean if he could "put your finger on a place where you think you have a really good chance to win."

But instead of naming a state, Dean shot back, "I'd put my finger on Terry McAuliffe."

"I asked Terry to step in when I was getting a lot of flak from all the other candidates - it was pretty tough and he decided to be neutral," Dean complained. "So I urge Terry to continue to be neutral because we're going at least through Super Tuesday."

Dean said he's nowhere near ready to even consider dropping out. "I intend to go as far as we possibly can. It's certainly going to be through March 9 and it may be a lot further."

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2004 Elections