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Democratic Primary Update: Clinton, Obama In Tight Race For Nomination As the race for the nomination moves to Nevada, the two democratic frontrunners are furiously campaigning for votes. Each has a win under their belts, and with a disputed Michigan primary also going to Hillary, the tensions are beginning to mount. Nevada, a heavily unionized state, is much different than both Iowa and New Hampshire. It has a much higher Hispanic population, and this year is also the first time the caucuses have been held at such an early date. To help the voters in Nevada get to know the candidates, the three major democratic candidates held a debate in Las Vegas on January 16th. The debate covered issues ranging from energy to immigration to the war in Iraq. Obama and Clinton sparred over the issues, but remained relatively civil. The toughest question of the night probably went to Edwards, who was asked by a voter why they should vote for him, a white male, instead of one of the other less ordinary candidates, such as Obama or Clinton. He responded with a smile, saying that he was the candidate who would create change in Washington. Just before the debates a truce had been called between the Obama and Hillary camps over the fight that insued after Clinton said, “Dr. King's dream began to be realised when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done.” The comment, which was viewed by some as downplaying Dr. King’s role, started a string of insults exchanged between the two candidates’ supporters. The back and forth culminated with the founder of BET, Robert L. Johnson, saying at a rally that, "I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood -- and I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in the book -- when they have been involved," The reference was to Obama’s admitted drug use in his book, “Dreams From My Father.” The so-called “race card” is something that has not been brought up earlier but is obviously still a hot issue for America. Obama has, so far, been very good at portraying himself as a candidate for president who happens to be black. Some say that the recent focus on race is a calculated move by the Clinton campaign that started when former President Bill Clinton called Obama’s candidacy a “fairy tale.” At the debate, however, Clinton repeated that she and Obama had reached a truce. “Our supporters, our staff, get overzealous. They say things I would not say,” Obama confirmed. The day after the debate, however, the two were back to sniping at each other. This time it was over their social security plans. Obama talked about a flyer the Clinton campaign had sent out that criticizes his Social Security plan. With Obama defending his plan and striking back, Hillary told voters to “look at the record. “ The Nevada caucuses promise to be interesting and unpredictable. The major polls have Obama and Clinton within three points, and Edwards is not far behind. Obama recently received the endorsement of Nevada’s culinary workers’ union, which represents many of the casino and hotel workers, a large group of Nevada’s workforce and a boost for his campaign. The candidates are working to rally as much support as possible before Saturday, when the results will be decided and the race will move to South Carolina. Whichever way Nevada votes, the race is shaping up to be a very close, very hard-fought battle between two landmark candidates. Whoever does end up winning, this field of candidates is truly a testament to how far America has come in the last century. |
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