Will Nevada Set the Course for 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination?

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/AP: Will Nev. Set the Course for 2008 Pick?
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 18, 2006

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Forget Hillary vs. Obama. There's another question in the Democratic presidential race: Does what happens in Vegas really stay there, or can Sin City set the course for the nation?

Nevada has a new prominence in deciding the party's next nominee. It will hold an early caucus Jan. 19, 2008, sandwiched between Iowa and New Hampshire. The prized position is an attempt to bring more diverse voices into determining the Democratic candidate beyond the two overwhelmingly white, rural states that have traditionally dominated the process.

The hope is that a Western state with a large population of Hispanics and union workers will bring fresh issues to the debate.

''I've always felt that the system we have of choosing our president has been very cockeyed,'' said incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the state's top Democrat. Nevada ''will give the American people a better idea of what a candidate should be for and against.''

That doesn't mean candidates should be for gambling and against limits on prostitution. Nevada may be famous for some of the nation's most liberal entertainment laws, but state leaders are more interested in promoting other, less sexy political concerns. Those include water rights, nuclear waste disposal, health care, education and maintaining military installations....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Nevada-2008.html