Barack Obama Says Dems Are in ‘Fierce Battle’ as He Enters Crosshairs in Nevada

Barack Obama emerged as the common target before the Nevada Democratic caucuses kicked off shortly before noon local time Saturday, as his two top rivals criticized him anew over questionable tactics allegedly being carried out by unions supporting him and over recent comments the Illinois senator made about Ronald Reagan.

The Democratic contest in Nevada has become unusually tense, with the state for the first time holding an early and influential spot on the campaign calendar. Among Republicans, the state has received spotty attention. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was declared the winner shortly after caucusing began — but only he and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had given the state any attention, as most major Republican candidates were focused on the historically important South Carolina primary Saturday.

On the Democratic side Obama is taking a lot of heat from his rivals as he campaigns with the support of influential unions.

Obama stopped by the employees-only area of The Mirage casino Saturday, where he shook hands with workers picking up uniforms, eating in the “Strip Joint” cafeteria and working in the kitchen. He was accompanied by leaders of the Culinary Workers union, which is backing him.

“I think it’ll be a close race. But I tell you what, I would not want to have anybody other than these two standing next to me going into a caucus,” Obama said. “These are the folks you want to take into a fight.”

Speaking earlier at a rally of nearly 900 people, Obama said: “We are in a fierce battle right now. We’re going to have a fiercer battle with Republicans, but right now we’re having a battle within the Democratic party.”

He attempted to qualify his remark, saying: “It’s a friendly battle — we’re all on the same team, but we’ve got to decide who we are as Democrats.”

Obama’s intra-party comment came as a flap over Reagan mounted, after he invoked the late Republican president as an example of change during a recent discussion with the Reno Gazette-Journal staff.

After John Edwards criticized Obama Thursday for the remarks, Hillary Clinton jumped in late Friday to accuse him of being infatuated with GOP ideas.

“My leading opponent said … he thinks Republicans have had better ideas over the last 10 to 15 years. That’s not the way I remember the last 10 to 15 years,” she said at a small union print shop in Las Vegas.

Obama had previously said of the GOP, “I think it’s fair to say the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time, the last 10 or 15 years, in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom.”

Obama responded to Clinton’s taunting by suggesting she would be a “president whose plans change with the politics of the moment” — one of his most direct critiques of the New York senator yet.

Clinton worked employees at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino Saturday. As Nevada residents head out to caucus, the three top Democrats are tangled in a tight race in the state. Obama and Clinton each have a major win, and a victory in Nevada could be critical going into other early primaries.

But as Obama continued to stress his message of optimism and change, Edwards and Clinton sought to undercut that by revisiting the subject of Obama’s zealous union supporters. At issue is a union supporting Obama that began running a Spanish-language radio ad slamming Clinton over the failed Nevada lawsuit to bar the so-called “casino caucuses.”

Clinton said Friday the ads are “shameless and they’re untrue. I would hope he would have the same standards he had in Iowa.”

The campaign has demanded that Obama condemn the ads, but he’s said he has no control over third-party actions, a remark Edwards seized on Friday.

“If he really means what he says — and this is not just talk — he should speak up and denounce this kind of divisive politics. It is not what the Democratic party needs,” Edwards said.

A translation of the negative ad by labor group Unite Here says:

“Hillary Clinton does not respect our people. Hillary Clinton supporters went to court to prevent working people to vote this Saturday — that is an embarrassment.

“Hillary Clinton supporters want to prevent people from voting in their workplace on Saturday. This is unforgivable. Hillary Clinton is shameless. Hillary Clinton should not allow her friends to attack our people’s right to vote this Saturday. This is unforgivable; there’s no respect

“Sen. Obama is defending our right to vote. Sen. Obama wants our votes. He respects our votes, our community, and our people.”

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the at-large caucuses to be held in nine hotels along the Las Vegas strip — the ones referenced in the ad — are permissible since internal party decisions are not under the court’s jurisdiction.

Clinton also called on candidates and unions to make it clear to their supporters and members Friday that they’re free to caucus for whomever they want, following a report in the Las Vegas Sun that union members supporting Obama were using strong-arm tactics to get members to caucus for him. The Culinary Workers Union, featured in the article, denies the claim.

“I have some concerns about the process, and I want to be really clear about this to everyone,” Clinton said in Elko, Nev. “I’m afraid some people may feel that they can’t come, or they shouldn’t come, or they can’t support the candidate of their choice … So I’m calling on all of the candidates and all of the unions to make clear to their supporters and their members, the people in Nevada …are free to stand up for the candidate of their choice.”