Aflutter over Nevada: Nation is all over the map on how important or not our caucus is

By Steve Kanigher (contact), Mike Trask (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The endorsement of Nevada’s “powerful Culinary Workers Union” earned Illinois Sen. Barack Obama headlines across the country Wednesday.

The endorsement, paired with one by the Service Employees International Union local, caught the attention of a campaign press corps that had been ignoring Nevada as if it were an annoying cell phone ring.

That’s not to say the entire mediascape is now taking interest in the Jan. 19 Democratic caucus. Some pundits still see Nevada as a fly-by state. For Republicans, Nevada is clearly an afterthought to the party’s primary in South Carolina on the same day.

Some samples of the view from elsewhere:

Compiled by Sun reporters Steve Kanigher and Mike Trask

The New York Times

“Nevada was vaulted overnight into the position of tie-breaker after the victory of Sen. Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday. The campaigns of both Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, who won the Iowa caucus last week, seemed poised for a sanguinary struggle in the Jan. 19 caucus, and Obama was scheduled to arrive here Friday.

The Clinton and Obama camps rushed in volunteers and staff members from Iowa, furiously opened new field offices and saturated the airwaves with radio advertisements in Spanish and TV spots touting their health care plans.”

The Fix, a Washington Post blog

“We wrote many months ago that the two keys to winning Nevada were the Culinary workers and the Reid organization. With those two at least partially split, it will be a real test of organizational strength for both Obama and Clinton next Saturday (Jan. 19).”

Talking Points MEMO, Election Central blog

“Keep an eye on Nevada. For Obama, it will be his next chance to get an edge on Hillary. And for Hillary, it will be her chance to beat Obama and fully regain control of this whole process.”

The Huffington Post BLOG

“The (Culinary Union) endorsement is especially important to Obama’s campaign, since his chief rival, Hillary Clinton, has locked up the majority of the state’s elected officials and power players. Her Nevada campaign chairman, Rory Reid, heads the Clark County Commission the most influential local government in the state and is the son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Even as Obama’s new union support was made public, Clinton’s campaign announced the endorsement of the state’s only Democratic member of the House, Rep. Shelley Berkeley.”

St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

“Unions are likely to play a key role in the Nevada caucus, but there’s not much at stake. Clinton leads, but a late endorsement from the Culinary Workers Union could give it to Obama.”

The Hill Web Site

“The endorsement of the state’s largest union is so potent that some say it can single-handedly sway the state for its recipient.”