WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After wrapping up the longest presidential primary campaign in modern history, Sen. Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that she is ready to turn her attention back to being the junior senator from New York.



Sen. Hillary Clinton is greeted with cheers as she returns to the Senate after a two-week vacation.



"I look forward to being back with this great team," she said as she returned to the Senate at the end of a two-week vacation, taken after she conceded the 17-month-long primary contest to Sen. Barack Obama.



The second-term New York Democrat pledged to "immerse myself in there," pointing to the chamber.



She had just emerged from the party's weekly luncheon, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called "one of the most emotional caucuses" he's ever attended on Capitol Hill.



He said the New York senator entered the event to a sea of high fives, cheers and a standing ovation from her Democratic colleagues.



Clinton said the opportunity to run for the Oval Office allowed her to "immerse myself in the extraordinary resilience and resourcefulness that is the American people."  Watch Clinton being greeted with cheers »



"I come back with an even greater depth of awareness about what we have to do here in Washington," she said. "So many of the concerns that people have expressed to me over the course of this campaign are ones that they can't individually solve. They can't even really take it on just at the state or local level."



Clinton said that in addition to working "very hard to elect Sen. Obama our president," she plans to campaign on behalf of Democratic Senate candidates.



"We have been unfortunately stymied by the stalling tactics" of Republicans, she said, noting the need for 60 votes to get any legislation passed in the Senate.



"It's going to be up to the Democratic Party, and particularly the Democratic Senate, to make progress on everything from health care and the economy to ending the war in Iraq," she said. "I look forward to being back with this great team that we have here and doing everything I can to make that happen."



Clinton said she is not spending time on the possibility that she may be asked to fill the No. 2 spot on Sen. Barack Obama's presidential ticket.



"You know, it is not something that I think about," she said. "This is totally Sen. Obama's decision, and that's the way it should be."



But she made clear, as she tried to do in her ultimate concession speech June 7, that her supporters should not stray toward John McCain, no matter any hard feelings left over from a bruising primary.



"Anyone who voted for me has very little in common with the Republican Party," she said.



Thursday night, Obama and Clinton are set to meet with key donors in Washington. The next day, the two will appear jointly in Unity, New Hampshire, a small town on that state's western border where the two candidates tied in the January primary.



"This is going to be a symbolic event that I hope will rally the Democratic Party behind the nominee," she said.



Obama said he looked forward to working with Clinton and her husband, former President Clinton, on his campaign for the White House.



"Bill Clinton is one of the most intelligent, charismatic political leaders that we have seen in a generation, and he has got a lot of wisdom to impart," Obama said Tuesday.



"We are going to be working very closely with him and Sen. Clinton to make sure that we not only win in November, but we actually govern in a way that delivers on the promise of universal health care, good jobs and good wages, clean energy, lower gas prices, the things that are really going to make an impact on people's lives," he said.  Watch Obama discuss Clintons' role »



Obama said the senator's presidential campaign had "enhanced" her stature in a
What city are Clinton and  Obama to campaign together in? what Junior senator returns after? What number of weeks was the junior senator's vacation? what clinton promises?
Unity, Hillary Clinton two-week universal health care, good jobs and good wages, clean energy, lower gas prices, the things that are really going to make an impact on people's lives,"
question: What city are Clinton and  Obama to campaign together in?, answer: Unity, | question: what Junior senator returns after?, answer: Hillary Clinton | question: What number of weeks was the junior senator's vacation?, answer: two-week | question: what clinton promises?, answer: universal health care, good jobs and good wages, clean energy, lower gas prices, the things that are really going to make an impact on people's lives,"