were the gambling issue to come to the surface of the presidential campaign it would test the vision, character and good sense of the candidates as no other issue. here is an opportunity to take a divided america and bring it together with civil discourse.
Sam Morris / Associated Press
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has embraced the gambling industry and its executives.
By Peter Wallsten and Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
January 18, 2008
LAS VEGAS — Barack Obama has warned about the dangers of gambling — that it carries a “moral and social cost” that could “devastate” poor communities. As a state senator in Illinois, he at times opposed plans to expand gambling, worrying that it could be especially harmful to low-income people.
Today, those views are posing a problem for Obama in the gambling mecca of Nevada, which holds its presidential nominating caucuses Saturday. While his top rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, also talks often about aiding low-income Americans, she has embraced the gambling industry and its executives, and her campaign has used Obama’s past statements in an effort to turn casino workers and other Nevada voters against him.