"No more niceties in Nevada for Clinton, Obama"

USA Today:

The gloves are off again in the Democratic presidential contest.

One day after a genteel television debate in which Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama pledged to tone down their heated rhetoric on race, the two sparred Wednesday over who had the management experience to best run the country.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, the New York senator said she was "taken aback" at Obama's contention in Tuesday's debate that bringing vision to the presidency mattered more than making sure "paperwork is being shuffled effectively."

USA TODAY ON POLITICS: Clinton: Hands-off president could be 'disastrous'

The Illinois senator made similar comments in an interview published Tuesday in Nevada's Reno Gazette-Journal, noting that he was not "an operating officer." The Gazette-Journal and USA TODAY are both owned by Gannett.

In the Bloomberg interview, Clinton took issue with Obama's approach, saying inspirational speeches weren't adequate preparation for the job. "I think it's important that we have a president who understands that you have to run the government," she said, not mentioning Obama by name. "We all need to be inspirational and set goals, and I've been doing that throughout this campaign."

Later, in a conference call to tout her economic stimulus package, Clinton returned to the theme. A hands-off approach to the presidency would be "disastrous," she said.

Obama's spokesman Bill Burton said Clinton seemed to believe that "this is a race for who would make the best chief of staff." He said voters are "looking for a president who has the leadership, vision and ability to bring people ... together."

The sharp tone of the exchanges, just days before Saturday's Democratic caucuses in Nevada, underscores the intense battle to capture the state.

For Clinton and Obama, a Nevada win could provide momentum before the Jan. 26 Democratic primary in South Carolina and Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, when 22 states hold contests. Fellow Democrat John Edwards, who has trailed them in national polls, is hoping for his first victory.

Polls show the Democrats locked in a three-way dead heat. They each campaigned in Nevada on Wednesday.

In another point of contention, a federal judge today will hear the legal challenge from several groups supporting Clinton who want to block the use of Las Vegas casinos as caucus sites.

The casinos sites allow Culinary Workers Union employees working on Saturday to cast their preference. The rules allowing the casinos were approved in last March when Clinton held a sizeable lead in national polls. Last week, the 60,000-member union endorsed Obama.

"We had not heard of any major objections before this lawsuit was filed," said Kirsten Searer, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Democratic Party.

On Monday, Bill Clinton defended the lawsuit, saying the caucus rules unfairly favored culinary union workers. "I think the rules ought to be the same for everybody," he said.

The Clinton campaign has not taken an official position. "We hope the courts and the state party resolve this matter," Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said.

Barack Obama