Democrats set aside race dispute

Analysts say the Democratic nomination race is wide open

The top rivals for the US Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have sought to set aside a row over civil rights.

In a televised debate in Las Vegas ahead of Saturday's Nevada caucuses, both candidates blamed aides and supporters for fuelling the dispute.

The row had focused on who had done most for civil rights in the 1960s.

A third candidate, John Edwards, used the debate to question his rivals' financial backers.

Nevada will be the next stage in the gruelling race to decide who will stand for the Democrats and their Republican opponents in the presidential election this November.

A primary election held in Michigan on Tuesday will not affect the contest as Democrats in the state were barred from sending delegates to the all-important final party convention.

Mitt Romney won the Republican primary in that state, fending off a challenge from Senator John McCain.

'We're all family'

Analysts say the race issue is not likely to be significant, if at all, until the Democratic South Carolina primary on 26 January, where the black vote could prove decisive.

KEY DATES AHEAD 19 Jan: Nevada caucuses; South Carolina primary (Rep) 26 Jan: South Carolina primary (Dem) 29 Jan: Florida primary 5 Feb: some 20 states including California, New York, New Jersey Q&A: US primaries

The row erupted after Mrs Clinton appeared last week to suggest the white US President Lyndon Johnson had done more for the cause of civil rights than black leader Martin Luther King. This was interpreted by some in the Obama camp as an insult.

"Our supporters, our staff, get over-zealous - they start saying things that I would not say," Mr Obama, who would be America's first black president if elected, said at Tuesday's debate.

Mrs Clinton said both she and Mr Obama had "exuberant and sometimes uncontrollable supporters" and that Democratic Party members were "all family".

John Edwards, who came second to Mr Obama in Iowa and third to Mrs Clinton in New Hampshire, questioned their acceptance of funding from drug and insurance companies.

"Do you think these people expect something or are they just interested in good government?" he asked.