Clinton to join presidential hopefuls at Carson City forum
Clinton to join presidential hopefuls at Carson City forum
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEYASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Sen. Hillary Clinton has agreed to attend a Nevada forum for Democratic presidential candidates later this month, state party officials said Tuesday.
Clinton joins five other presidential hopefuls already confirmed for the Feb. 21 event in Carson City, including Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, officials said.
The New York senator is the first of the Democratic front-runners to R.S.V.P. for the event in the state capital.
Billed by as a kickoff to Nevada's new early 2008 caucus, the forum faced some resistance from top-tier candidates. Representatives for Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards complained last week to national party officials about the number and early timing of forums and debates scheduled in Nevada and other key states.
Nevada's caucus was moved to Jan. 19, between Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus and the New Hampshire primary, as a way for minority and union voters in the West to get a say in picking the Democratic nominee. However, the state has not yet been showered by attention from the candidates.
Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said some candidates also had expressed concerns about the format of the forum, and the party agreed to accommodate them.
Candidates will appear on stage individually, give a statement and answer a series of questions posed by a moderator, Searer said.
"Their concern was that they didn't want a lot of negative back and forth," Searer said. "We were very open about the format. We want to give them an opportunity to introduce themselves to Nevada as they're comfortable."
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson confirmed the senator would attend.
The Edwards and Obama campaigns did not immediately return calls for comment, but Searer said neither had signed on. Obama, D-Ill., is scheduled to formally launch his campaign Saturday in Springfield, Ill.
The moderator and the network television host for the forum, co-sponsored by the state party and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has not been decided, Searer said. Its location, the Carson City Community Center, holds about 750 people.
State organizers have scheduled four other candidate events leading up to the caucus next year. A final debate in Las Vegas is scheduled Jan. 15, the day after the Iowa caucus.
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/feb/06/020610087.html
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEYASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Sen. Hillary Clinton has agreed to attend a Nevada forum for Democratic presidential candidates later this month, state party officials said Tuesday.
Clinton joins five other presidential hopefuls already confirmed for the Feb. 21 event in Carson City, including Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, officials said.
The New York senator is the first of the Democratic front-runners to R.S.V.P. for the event in the state capital.
Billed by as a kickoff to Nevada's new early 2008 caucus, the forum faced some resistance from top-tier candidates. Representatives for Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards complained last week to national party officials about the number and early timing of forums and debates scheduled in Nevada and other key states.
Nevada's caucus was moved to Jan. 19, between Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus and the New Hampshire primary, as a way for minority and union voters in the West to get a say in picking the Democratic nominee. However, the state has not yet been showered by attention from the candidates.
Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said some candidates also had expressed concerns about the format of the forum, and the party agreed to accommodate them.
Candidates will appear on stage individually, give a statement and answer a series of questions posed by a moderator, Searer said.
"Their concern was that they didn't want a lot of negative back and forth," Searer said. "We were very open about the format. We want to give them an opportunity to introduce themselves to Nevada as they're comfortable."
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson confirmed the senator would attend.
The Edwards and Obama campaigns did not immediately return calls for comment, but Searer said neither had signed on. Obama, D-Ill., is scheduled to formally launch his campaign Saturday in Springfield, Ill.
The moderator and the network television host for the forum, co-sponsored by the state party and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has not been decided, Searer said. Its location, the Carson City Community Center, holds about 750 people.
State organizers have scheduled four other candidate events leading up to the caucus next year. A final debate in Las Vegas is scheduled Jan. 15, the day after the Iowa caucus.
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/feb/06/020610087.html
posted by presgore19 at 3:18 PM
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