A look at the 2008 presidential race
The Associated PressIN THE HEADLINES
McCain tells South Carolina voters federal spending is out of control ... Edwards critical of Obama's praise of Reagan ... Romney uses takes "Washington is broken" message from Mich. to Nev. ... Thompson defends Guantanamo Bay ... Huckabee says Southern roots help him understand SC ... Campaigns scramble for support in Nevada's unfamiliar territory...Clinton criticizes Obama on ads.
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McCain: Spending is out of control
FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) — Republican John McCain said Friday his party lost control of federal spending and expressed reservations about President Bush's economic stimulus plan as South Carolina voters got bad economic news on the eve of the GOP presidential primary.
"As a Republican, I stand before you embarrassed. Embarrassed that we let that spending get out of control, and it led to corruption. Now we have former members of Congress residing in prison," McCain told a town-hall style meeting at the Carolina Hospital East Campus in Florence. "If I'm president, it's going to stop."
Rival Mike Huckabee told voters Bush is on the right track with a plan to boost the economy. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson mostly concurred.
"I think if we're going to have a stimulus plan, that's probably the direction we need to go in," Thompson said in Spartanburg, S.C.
Pocketbook issues took the forefront of the presidential campaign here with the sobering news that the state unemployment rate had hit 6.6 percent in December, as a result of the largest one-month increase in nearly 20 years.
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Edwards: Obama shouldn't invoke Reagan
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrat John Edwards said rival Barack Obama was wrong to characterize Ronald Reagan as a positive force for change because the Republican president hurt labor unions, the middle class and the environment.
"I would never use Ronald Reagan as an example of change," Edwards said during a phone interview from Nevada, which holds caucuses Saturday.
Obama, in a meeting with the editorial board of the Reno Gazette-Journal, said Reagan "changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not." The Illinois senator went on to say that Reagan "just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."
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Romney takes Mich. message to Nev.
ELKO, Nev. (AP) — Mitt Romney is delivering the same "Washington is broken" message in Nevada that he gave in Michigan and hoping for the same result — a victory in the presidential nomination sweepstakes.
With other Republicans spending little or no time in Nevada, such an outcome might be within reach. But Romney cut short a tougher fight in South Carolina, essentially ceding the ground to rivals there. Both states vote Saturday.
"As you think about the promises made and compare them with the promises delivered, you realize that Washington is broken," he told about 200 people at an early morning rally in the gymnasium of the Adobe Middle School. "And I'm going to Washington to finally bring change and get the job done."
A Las Vegas Review-Journal poll Friday found Romney with a comfortable lead in the state, favored by 34 percent of respondents to 19 percent for Sen. John McCain of Arizona and 13 percent for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
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Thompson defends Guantanamo Bay
SENECA S.C. (AP) — Republican Fred Thompson defended the detention of foreign nationals at Guantanamo Bay.
"The last thing in the world we need is a bunch of enemy combatants over here in our court system," the former Tennessee senator said during a radio interview in front of a couple hundred at a restaurant. He said closing the facility would allow prisoners to demand rights given to U.S. citizens and would not help "buy off world opinion."
The Guantanamo remarks were a slap at New Hampshire primary winner John McCain, who has called for the facility to be shuttered in part because the prison is harming the U.S.'s reputation with the world.
At a Spartanburg restaurant later, Thompson was asked about the differences between him and Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee. "How long you got, buddy?" Thompson responded. "I heard him this morning use the phrase that the Constitution 'was a living, breathing document.' The last time I heard that was when Al Gore used it in 2000 during the presidential campaign."
Thompson is in a tough struggle in South Carolina. He's looking to wedge himself among candidates that polls and earlier primaries have in the lead.
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Huckabee plays up Southern roots
BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican Mike Huckabee said his Southern roots as a former Arkansas governor help him grasp the problems of South Carolina voters.
"We really want to win here," Huckabee said, "in part because as governor of a state of similar circumstances, I think I have a better understanding than anybody else running for president what unique challenges we face, not just in Southern states, but especially in Southern states."
Huckabee needs to win the state to keep his presidential ambitions alive. He won the leadoff Iowa caucuses on the strength of his support from Christian conservative voters but came in third in New Hampshire and Michigan.
The same born-again Christians are supporting him in South Carolina, but he faces competition for their votes from rival Fred Thompson. Moreover, he faces an especially stiff challenge for voters across the GOP spectrum from John McCain, winner of the New Hampshire primary.
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Clinton hits Obama on ads
ELKO, Nev. (AP) — Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Obama to denounce radio ads paid for by a pro-Obama labor union that sharply criticize her candidacy.
The ad is sponsored by Unite Here, a labor group affiliated with the powerful Culinary Union that represents most of the service workers on the Las Vegas strip. The 60,000 member union has endorsed Obama, giving him an important boost going into Nevada's presidential caucuses Saturday.
Running on Spanish language radio stations, the ad calls the former first lady "shameless" and says she "does not respect our people." It also slams efforts by some Clinton backers to block special precinct caucuses on the Las Vegas Strip for casino workers.
Clinton used the same language to criticize the ad and Obama's indirect connection to it.
"They're shameless and offensive," Clinton said of the ads, noting that Obama had denounced commercials run by labor unions and other independent groups in Iowa that supported John Edwards.
"You would hope that Sen. Obama had the same standards in Nevada that he had in Iowa. Obviously we're calling on him to do that here," she said. "I think it's way beyond bounds for anyone to make the shameless and offensive claims that are in those ads."
The Obama campaign has said the Illinois senator does not encourage outside groups to advertise on behalf of individual candidates. But Obama has not distanced himself from the claims in the ad.
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Weather forecast for parts of Nevada on Saturday:
Conditions in Las Vegas: Mainly sunny. High 53, low 34.
Conditions for Reno: Mostly sunny. High 45, low 23.
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Weather forecast for parts of South Carolina on Saturday:
Conditions in Greenville: Rain-snow mix, with a 90 percent chance of precipitation and 1 to 2 inches of snow expected. High 38, low 21.
Conditions in Charleston: Rain, possibly more than 1 inch. High 48, low 32.
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THE DEMOCRATS
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama campaign in Nevada. John Edwards held an event Las Vegas before heading to Oklahoma.
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THE REPUBLICANS
Mitt Romney campaigns in Nevada and appears on NBC's "Tonight Show." Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Fred Thompson campaign in South Carolina. Rudy Giuliani holds a round-table discussion of space policy in Florida.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"I like his folksiness, if you will, but he's almost too folksy for the majority of the people in the United States." — Dan Gryder, 74, speaking about Republican Fred Thompson. Gryder said he's undecided and likes Thompson, but is leaning toward rival John McCain.
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STAT OF THE DAY:
Undeclared voters make up 189,112 of those registered in Nevada. Registered Democrats number 499,850, compared with 480,437 registered Republicans, according to Nevada Secretary of State figures updated Jan. 9, 2008.
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Compiled by Ann Sanner