RENO, Nev. — John Edwards and Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized Barack Obama’s praise of the Republican Party and Ronald Reagan — an anathema for many Democrats, particularly union members considered crucial to winning Nevada’s Democratic caucuses today.
Obama responded by suggesting Clinton would be a “president whose plans change with the politics of the moment” as part of one of his most direct critiques of the New York senator yet.
The intensity reflects what polls suggest could be a tight contest today as Nevada plays its most prominent role ever in a presidential nominating campaign. Nevada was granted a coveted spot right after Iowa and New Hampshire in an attempt to bring more racial and geographic diversity into the selection.
The novelty means there isn’t a reliable way to determine who is likely to turn out at caucuses across the state. In addition, nine caucuses are to be held in casinos for the first time to allow shift workers to participate on a busy holiday weekend — making the result even more unpredictable.
Obama got a boost when he won the endorsement of the Culinary Workers Union that represents 60,000 housekeepers, bartenders, waiters and other employees on the Las Vegas Strip. Then a judge dismissed an attempt to eliminate the casino caucus sites. But Clinton still holds an edge in most polls.
Edwards, his chances for the presidency diminished by losses to Obama in Iowa and Clinton in New Hampshire, did not run television ads in the state and did not plan to stay in Nevada to wait for results. His schedule Friday had him leaving to campaign in Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia, among the more than 20 states that vote on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.
Edwards questioned Obama’s commitment to labor in his final appeal to Nevada voters — a rally with about 100 of his precinct captains in Las Vegas.
“Ronald Reagan, the man who busted unions, the man who did everything in his power to destroy the organized labor movement, the man who created a tax structure that favored the richest Americans against middle class and working families … we know that Ronald Reagan is not an example of change for a presidential candidate running in the Democratic Party,” Edwards said.
Reagan also “was destructive to the environment by removing a lot of the regulation that existed,” Edwards said later. “I would never use Ronald Reagan as an example of change.”
Obama told the Reno Gazette-Journal editorial board Monday that “Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it,” Obama said.
“I think it’s fair to say that the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last 10 to 15 years in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom,” Obama told the newspaper.
On Friday in Las Vegas, Clinton responded, “That’s not the way I remember the last 10 to 15 years.” She said she didn’t consider it a better idea to privatize Social Security, eliminate the minimum wage, undercut health benefits, shut down the government or drive the country into debt. “I think we know what needs to be done in America. And I think we’re ready to do it. I’m ready to lead on Day One.”
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