Clinton, Obama smooth over race row

LAS VEGAS: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Tuesday carefully smoothed over a race row which had threaten to saturate the closely-fought Democratic White House race in a wave of bitterness.   

The former first lady also used the encounter in gambling paradise Las Vegas, to accuse President George W. Bush of mounting a 'pathetic' 'begging' mission to press Gulf leaders to curb high oil prices.   

Her attack came in the context of fears over the US economy and a possible dip into recession, which are becoming a dominant theme on both sides of the presidential race.   

Clinton and Obama used opening exchanges of the debate, four days before the Nevada nominating contests, to end a race row rattling the party, which has high hopes of capturing the White House in November.   

"Senator Obama and I agree completely that neither race nor gender should be a part of this campaign," Clinton said, and praised Obama, who is vying to become America's first black president, as 'inspirational'.   

She said that both campaigns had 'exuberant and sometimes uncontrollable' staffers, and Obama agreed, saying sometimes his supporters were overzealous and said things he would not say himself.   

"We are right now in a defining moment in our history. We have a nation at war, our planet is in peril," Obama said.   

"We can't solve these challenges unless we can come together as a people," Obama said, in a debate also involving third placed Democratic challenger John Edwards.   

The row started smouldering last week, after Clinton made remarks in New Hampshire which critics interpreted as critical of civil rights icon Martin Luther King.   

Amid intense sniping between the two campaigns, Clinton and Obama -- both vying for the Democratic Party's key African-American voting block -- called a truce on Monday.   

Obama pulled off a stunning victory in the first nominating contest of the 2008 race, the January 3 Iowa caucuses, but Clinton scored a shocking counter-punch in the New Hampshire primary last week.   

With the next Democratic contests in Nevada on Saturday, and South Carolina the week after, both senators are gearing up for more than 20 nominating contests on 'Super Tuesday' on February 5.   

Clinton also took aim at Bush, in an apparent attempt to put herself above the Democratic fray, as the US leader wrapped up a tour of the Middle East.   

"President Bush is over in the Gulf now begging the Saudis and others to drop the price of oil," Clinton said. 'How pathetic?'   

"We should have an energy policy right now, putting people to work in green collar jobs as a way to stave off the recession, moving us towards energy independence."   

Bush earlier urged oil producers to take action over near record-high prices, prompting his Saudi hosts to vow to increase output when justified by the market.   

Clinton also defended her remarks last week in New Hampshire that Al-Qaeda carefully watched US elections, when she noted that twin terror attacks last year in Britain after Gordon Brown became prime minister.   

"We are up against a relentless enemy, they will take advantage of us," she said.   

But in the most contentious exchange of the debate, Obama warned that Clinton was using national security fears, and the specter of terror attacks, as a campaign tactic to score political points.