Barack Obama puts Harry Reid in the spotlight read news
In that sense, Reid’s election offers a test of whether Obama’s 2008 grass-roots organization will remain a force in 2012.
Obama, who arrived in Las Vegas after campaign stops in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, tried to inspire Nevada Democrats not to wait for Nov. 2 to cast their ballots. He reminded the crowd at a middle school in Las Vegas that early voting is already underway.
Obama won Nevada by 12 percentage points in 2008 after the state had twice swung for George W. Bush. But just 39 percent of Nevada voters held a favorable view of Obama in an August poll. And new jobs figures released Friday showed that Nevada still continues to be the state with the highest unemployment rate: 14.4 percent.
To coincide with the president’s visit, Angle’s campaign released a video juxtaposing Obama’s campaign promises with Nevada’s dire statistics.
“Harry Reid is the closest thing this election to Barack Obama’s name being on the ballot,” Angle spokesman Jarrod Agen said.
Knocking off the Senate majority leader of the same party as a sitting president has strong political significance. Majority leaders are often election-year targets for the opposing party. The most recent case was in 2004, when Republicans defeated Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, an Obama mentor.
The White House has poured many of its resources into Reid’s reelection bid. Obama’s visit follows Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Reno, Nev., on Wednesday, and before Nov. 2, Reid will get a campaign stop from first lady Michelle Obama, who has already done an event with him in the state.
But White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was reluctant to characterize Reid’s race as the most important one on the ballot.
“Senator Reid is somebody who has obviously done a lot to ensure our success in the United States Senate [and] was a supporter, somebody who urged the president to run very early,” Gibbs told reporters when asked about the significance of the election. “And it’s a very important race.”
Gibbs, speaking aboard Air Force One Thursday during Obama’s campaign swing, also took a few shots at Angle, who had previously advocated the elimination of Social Security and was recently caught on video telling a group of Hispanic high school students that they looked “Asian.”
“Look at the number of controversial comments that get made,” he said, describing her as “somebody who seems to be well out of the mainstream of where voters are in the state of Nevada.”
Reid, who reminded voters that Obama visited Nevada 22 times during the 2008 campaign, used some of his time at the podium Friday night to attack Angle’s views, calling them “extreme” and “dangerous.”
Facing a state in dire economic conditions, he said he’s got “important issues” on his mind: “jobs, jobs and more jobs.”
And he asked voters to let him keep his.
Obama, who arrived in Las Vegas after campaign stops in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, tried to inspire Nevada Democrats not to wait for Nov. 2 to cast their ballots. He reminded the crowd at a middle school in Las Vegas that early voting is already underway.
“You have to vote everybody,” he said. He even directed them to a nearby polling center and told them what time to be there. “Don’t wait,” he said. “Don’t wait.”
Angle is hoping she can capitalize on Obama’s visit as well. Her campaign is employing the same strategy as Reid’s: using the president to help drive turnout. Obama won Nevada by 12 percentage points in 2008 after the state had twice swung for George W. Bush. But just 39 percent of Nevada voters held a favorable view of Obama in an August poll. And new jobs figures released Friday showed that Nevada still continues to be the state with the highest unemployment rate: 14.4 percent.
To coincide with the president’s visit, Angle’s campaign released a video juxtaposing Obama’s campaign promises with Nevada’s dire statistics.
“Harry Reid is the closest thing this election to Barack Obama’s name being on the ballot,” Angle spokesman Jarrod Agen said.
Knocking off the Senate majority leader of the same party as a sitting president has strong political significance. Majority leaders are often election-year targets for the opposing party. The most recent case was in 2004, when Republicans defeated Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, an Obama mentor.
The White House has poured many of its resources into Reid’s reelection bid. Obama’s visit follows Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Reno, Nev., on Wednesday, and before Nov. 2, Reid will get a campaign stop from first lady Michelle Obama, who has already done an event with him in the state.
But White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was reluctant to characterize Reid’s race as the most important one on the ballot.
“Senator Reid is somebody who has obviously done a lot to ensure our success in the United States Senate [and] was a supporter, somebody who urged the president to run very early,” Gibbs told reporters when asked about the significance of the election. “And it’s a very important race.”
Gibbs, speaking aboard Air Force One Thursday during Obama’s campaign swing, also took a few shots at Angle, who had previously advocated the elimination of Social Security and was recently caught on video telling a group of Hispanic high school students that they looked “Asian.”
“Look at the number of controversial comments that get made,” he said, describing her as “somebody who seems to be well out of the mainstream of where voters are in the state of Nevada.”
Reid, who reminded voters that Obama visited Nevada 22 times during the 2008 campaign, used some of his time at the podium Friday night to attack Angle’s views, calling them “extreme” and “dangerous.”
Facing a state in dire economic conditions, he said he’s got “important issues” on his mind: “jobs, jobs and more jobs.”
And he asked voters to let him keep his.
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