Obama's Nevada supporters still expect to party after reality check - News

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Jan. 09, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Obama's Nevada supporters still expect to party after reality check

By MOLLY BALL
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama watch returns from the New Hampshire presidential primary on Tuesday at the North Las Vegas home of Carolyn and Charles Essex.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Sen. Barack Obama was so confident about a win in New Hampshire on Tuesday that his campaign staged more than 160 parties at supporters' houses across Nevada, the next stop on the road to the Democratic presidential nomination.

As returns began to come in showing him instead losing narrowly to Sen. Hillary Clinton back East, the mood at Carolyn Essex's house in North Las Vegas was subdued.

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The group remained hopeful and determined, but it was nothing like the roaring throng that packed a local bar to watch the Iowa results last week.

Essex, 47, switched off the big-screen TV in the spacious living room in which about 20 Obama supporters from the neighborhood had gathered, and began to speak.

"We're going to be victorious, you know that," she told them. "You know that this is a movement and that nothing can stop the favor of the Lord."

A campaign staffer, Jason Green, got up and rallied the crowd with Obama's signature call-and-response chant, "Fired up! Ready to go!"

"New Hampshire is out of our control, but we can control what happens on the ground here in Nevada," Green said. "We have built the strongest campaign organization this state has ever seen."

Obama's campaign got a boost late Tuesday when the Service Employees International Union in Nevada voted to endorse him. A union spokeswoman said that in a Tuesday teleconference Obama had the support of the 60 percent of the executive board that was required for its endorsement.

The 17,500-member union of health care and county workers today will begin educating members and knocking on doors to support Obama, Hilary Haycock said.

A spokeswoman said the Obama campaign remained confident going into Nevada and that throwing the parties hadn't been premature.

"This campaign has always been about grass-roots organizing," Shannon Gilson said. "The fact that thousands of supporters got together tonight to root on Barack Obama speaks to the strength of our organization."

Indeed, as they continued to watch the results, Obama supporters at the Essex house, some of them new volunteers, started calling lists of voters.

No other candidate had staged a New Hampshire-watching gathering in Nevada, including Clinton, whose staff and volunteers had a business-as-usual night of phone calls to voters. But when Clinton gave her victory speech after 8 p.m. Pacific time, they paused to watch and cheer wildly at her Las Vegas headquarters.

"We're excited. It's good to have the momentum with us," said Clinton's Nevada campaign chairman, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid.

"We look forward to the eyes of the nation being on Nevada. But we haven't taken our eyes off the ball. We're going to continue to follow our plan."

Nevada's Jan. 19 Democratic caucuses now look to become the tiebreaker and the main focus of the candidates. That has Democrats in the state jubilant that a contest that might have been written off if Obama seemed unstoppable now appears to be another vital fight.

Most Republican presidential candidates don't have active campaigns in Nevada, whose Republican caucuses come after a contested Michigan primary and on the same day as South Carolina's primary. The Democrats are not playing in Michigan and have a later date in South Carolina.

A major turn in the race is scheduled to come today, when the Culinary union, along with its international parent union, is scheduled to endorse a Democratic candidate. Speculation had been rampant that the Strip workers union, which likes to pick a winner, would go with Obama, but that was before his New Hampshire loss.

The Culinary union was having a private teleconference late Tuesday to discuss its choice. The 60,000-member local of the Unite Here coalition of textile and hotel workers plans an 11 a.m. news conference today to announce its endorsement.

But the union's effect on the race could be diminished by the fact it held out for so long.

Obama is expected in the state on Friday, when it is also rumored that Clinton will arrive. Neither campaign would confirm its schedule, however.

Two more candidates still in the race, and with active campaigns in Nevada, are hoping the state elevates a third Democrat to a much-needed win: Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico who hopes Nevadans want a Western candidate, and John Edwards, who hopes Nevada's union members will turn to him.

An Edwards spokesman acknowledged the campaign had a "four-state plan," hoping wins in the early states would propel an underfunded candidate, but said he was undeterred.

"We think New Hampshire was really a referendum on Senator Clinton," Adam Bozzi said. "She spent millions of dollars to make it her fire wall. This is a fight where it looks like none of the candidates are going to fade. It looks like there's three serious contenders, and we are going to be in contention for every delegate in every state."

Bozzi made a case that Culinary's endorsement won't necessarily sway its members, since all the candidates have met with groups of members multiple times. The union has done a lot of caucus training, but it now will have just 10 days to persuade members to vote for the candidate it endorses.

Meanwhile Tuesday night, as New Hampshire's Republican contest was called early for Arizona Sen. John McCain, the second-place finisher, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, had a group of volunteers diligently calling voters and distributing yard signs from a Las Vegas office.

Despite his potential regional appeal, McCain pulled out of Nevada many months ago when his campaign hit financial turbulence. After winning New Hampshire, McCain told the Associated Press, "We're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina," with no mention of Nevada.

Romney has the most organized Republican campaign in Nevada, although the campaign frets that a win here won't count because the state will be seen as virtually uncontested. The only other Republican with paid staff here is Rep. Ron Paul.

The Romney operation in Nevada has made more than 150,000 phone calls and is about to get at least 60 staffers from other states.

Leaving the office with an armload of yard signs was 14-year-old Ryan Fox, who's working hard to convince those old enough to vote that Romney is their man.

"I can vote for his second term," Ryan said.

He was not bothered by the New Hampshire result. "I know we put a lot of money into New Hampshire, but there's still Michigan and here," Ryan said. "It's not like he's going to run out of money."

The junior politico was accompanied by his friend Henry Ragan, 13, whose successful campaign for student body president Ryan had managed, and their ride, Ryan's mother Linda.

Ryan's energetic advocacy appeared to be getting results. Both his parents started out supporting Rudy Giuliani, he said, but now "my dad's still going back and forth, and I've pretty much brainwashed my mom."

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2919.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. FamilyGuy wrote on January 10, 2008 07:46 AM: Here is an interesting analysis of Clinton and an endorsement of Obama. http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/01/10/hillary/?source=whitelist About Obama: "I will vote for Hillary if she is the nominee of my party, because I want Democrats appointed to the Cabinet and the Supreme Court. But I plan to vote for Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary because he is a rational, centered personality who speaks the language of idealism and national unity. Obama has served longer as an elected official than Hillary. He has had experience as a grass-roots activist, and he is also a highly educated lawyer who will be a quick learner in office. His international parentage and childhood, as well as his knowledge of both Christianity and Islam, would make him the right leader at the right time. And his wife Michelle is a powerhouse." Family Guy wrote on January 09, 2008 11:13 PM: Wow - around 10 a.m. it looks like there was a Clinton campaigner who decided to SPAM this article with Clinton propaganda and attacks on Obama. Multiple posts, written the same way within a short period of each other and trying to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet. Is the Clinton campaign so desperate that they are relying on SPAM to get supporters? Reality check - Clinton won by 3 percentage points. New Hampshire experienced a record breaking number of voters, many of whom were independent woman who decided at the last minute to vote because they couldn't stand seeing the former First Lady's campaign fall apart on only the second state. The Clintons are good campaigners, but at the end of the day they are still the same old Clintons who do not represent a change and who have already had 8 years in a presidency and 8 years in the Senate. That is 16 years and not much has changed. Why would things be any different if she as elected as President? Also, don’t forget that even though Clinton won in New Hampshire, she and Obama split the delegates and Obama is still ahead by one delegate. New Hampshire was a win for her, but not that big of a win! I hope Obama wins the nomination. He is the candidate who can help America and all of us. His experience as an activist, State Senator and U.S. Senator shows how great of a candidate he is and that he has not been corrupted by Washington politics. For those democrats that think Clinton is so great, check out the polls showing how polarizing and disliked she is among conservative Independents and Republicans. Is she really the best candidate for the national race? She is if you want a Republican president! Like I said, Clinton is a good campaigner, but her campaign has already shown weakness after one state. She will likely have a rude awakening in Nevada and South Carolina leaving her very vulnerable on Feb. 5. Obama's momentum can't and won't be extinguished because Clinton won by 3 percentage points in one state. Obama '08! David Johann wrote on January 09, 2008 10:54 PM: QUESTIONS: HOW MANY PEOPLE POSTING HERE FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL? HOW MANY HAVE BACHELOR'S DEGREES? HOW MANY WITH BACHELOR'S DEGREES HAD A 3.0 OR BETTER AVERAGE? I'm guessing it's way less than 5%. How'z that makeya feel, Molly Ball? Zach wrote on January 09, 2008 10:28 PM: Emporer Bush can stop all this political madness by invoking executive order 13223 "Once a national emergency is declared, presidents use executive orders to exercise emergency powers". "Some such powers come from Congress – (but) presidents assert other emergency powers without any statutory or constitutional authority. So long as the definition (and declaration) of a national emergency remains at the unbridled discretion of a president – with the Congress and the courts granting extensive, perhaps comprehensive authority to presidents whenever a national emergency is declared – Americans enjoy little protection from the prospect of oppressive, dictatorial government." philip wrote on January 09, 2008 06:03 PM: The biggest surprise to me, from looking at the third grade spelling errors on these posts is that any of you can read or comprehend the previous posts. vegasgirl wrote on January 09, 2008 05:13 PM: Hey, No More Clintons: You think you're being clever, but you just sound like a raving lunatic. Grow up. And Kevin, your post is just plain stupid and ludicrous. Please, please for your sanity, turn off the right-wing radio. It's pathetic. NO MORE CLINTONS!! EVER!! wrote on January 09, 2008 04:39 PM: INDICT BILL ( LONG OVER DO )... DEPORT HILLARY ( ALL SEEING AND HEARING MEN GIVE THANKS)... STERILIZE CHELSEA ( TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE) ... CLINTONS.. FYI "WHEN THE PARTY IS OVER ITS POLITE TO JUST LEAVE" BYE !!!!! OBAMA 08 Jason wrote on January 09, 2008 04:10 PM: Also, Larry, what race is committing all the killings of women and childeren and the behedings of innocent people like Daniel Pearl, you need to stop taken those pharmaciticals, like kevin said, and come out of the fog. Jason wrote on January 09, 2008 04:08 PM: Larry, most blacks live off of the governement, Katrina revealed that to us, most mexicans nowadays are illeagle, and most white people run business and the government are the success of this nation. Also, this nation is a CHRISTIAN based nation and putting the hand on the bible has been done since the founding of this nation, to change that becuase of christianphobics like yourself shows how this country is loosing it's christain roots and is the reason why we are in the mess we're in. GOD gave this nation to the peopels of the world so we can be free and teach christian based values, not secular humanisim. Hillary and Obama will take us to socialism which has NEVER worked in creating success, only oppression. dwc wrote on January 09, 2008 03:35 PM: It appears we've discovered the cause of global warming! Scientists have confirmed the phenomenon of global warming is the direct result of the hot gases escaping the mouths of every sucker that thinks any of the presidential candidates will be good for America. Read All Comments