Smash hit

John Edwards, who is pressing on despite his losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, is hoping for victory in Nevada to keep his campaign alive. He was boosted by a poll this week which showed the three candidates in a close race, with Mr Obama just ahead. He was the third candidate on stage.

On the corrosive dispute over the subject of race in recent days, Mr Obama said "not only in hindsight, but going forward," he regretted that his staff had prodded reporters to pursue the issue. He was confronted with a four-page memo put together by an aide listing statements made by the Clinton camp that could be construed as racist.

Mr Obama, seeking to become America's first black president, said: "Our supporters, our staff, get overzealous. They start saying things that I would not say." He said memos such as that were not the way he wanted to run his campaign.

Mrs Clinton said: "We both have exuberant and sometimes uncontrollable supporters. We need to get this campaign where it should be."

A race like a crackpot Dynasty

The contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton matches any fiction

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The Clinton campaign in particular believed the dispute about race was damaging the former First Lady's White House bid. It erupted last week when, trying to make a point about presidential leadership, she said it took a president - Lyndon Johnson - to turn Dr King's dream about racial equality into law. Black leaders condemned her for appearing to diminish the Civil Rights leader's legacy. Mrs Clinton accused the Obama campaign of "deliberately distorting" her remarks.

But the race row has caused much damage within the Democratic party and the message appeared not to have fully spread among surrogates. Charles Rangel, a veteran black congressman and Clinton supporter, accused Mr Obama of playing the race card in just one instance on a day when aides in both camps continued the insults and accusations.

Last night Mrs Clinton said comments at the weekend about Mr Obama by Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and one of her prominent African American supporters, were inappropriate. But she demurred when asked if she would bar him from playing a role in her campaign. Mr Johnson appeared to make a clear reference to Mr Obama's youthful, and acknowledged, drug use, something which led to the forced resignation of another Clinton campaign advisor last year.

After Mr Obama's victory in Iowa and Mrs Clinton's stunning comeback in New Hampshire, the Democratic race is close and hard fought between two well-funded candidates. Both want to win Nevada. It would not only be a boost, but will influence voters' perceptions in California, the biggest prize on February 5, "Super Tuesday", where Hispanic voters will play a significant role.

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