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Clinton, Obama Tension Reignites

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By SHAILAGH MURRAY and PAUL KANE, The Washington Post

Published: January 18, 2008

LAS VEGAS - A federal judge refused Thursday to shut down nine casino-based sites for Saturday's caucuses, delivering a victory to Sen. Barack Obama in what has become an increasingly bitter Democratic contest here.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan rejected the argument that conducting some of the caucuses in casinos would give Obama an unfair advantage because he has been endorsed by the state culinary workers union, which employs thousands of casino workers. Siding with lawyers for the Democratic National Committee, he said federal law "recognizes the parties have the right to determine how to apportion delegates."

The DNC, working with Nevada Democratic officials, approved the at-large precincts last summer to accommodate people who will be working when the hourlong caucuses are held at noon Saturday. Any shift worker employed within a 2.5-mile radius of the Strip is allowed to participate, but those sites are expected to be dominated by culinary workers, many of whom are Latino. State party officials estimate casino caucusgoers could account for up to 10 percent of total turnout.

The lawsuit, brought by a state teachers union that has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, has led to a nasty dispute between her campaign and Obama's, escalating tensions just days after the two tried to defuse a racially tinged dispute.

Clinton's campaign has denied playing a formal role in the lawsuit but has been critical of the casino caucuses.

Obama and Clinton also sparred over the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, a huge concern for Nevada voters. Clinton hit both Obama and former Sen. John Edwards with a radio ad questioning the strength of their opposition to the site.

The ad noted Edwards previously had supported the Nevada repository, and Obama had raised campaign funds from officials in the nuclear industry. The Obama campaign responded with statements and a hastily arranged conference call to underscore his consistent opposition to the Yucca site.

Edwards, fighting for his first win of the primary season, challenged remarks Obama made about former President Ronald Reagan in an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal. Obama, who has aggressively courted Republicans and independents, told the newspaper: "I think Ronald 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."

In response, Edwards said Reagan "did extraordinary damage to the middle class and working people, created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans, and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day."

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