Obama, Clinton put racial spat behind them

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton promised on Tuesday to put an end to their recent dispute over race and praised each other's commitment to civil rights.

The top Democratic rivals agreed their clash on the issue was exacerbated by overzealous supporters and said it was time to focus on issues of importance to U.S. voters.

"We both have exuberant and sometimes uncontrollable supporters," Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, said during a friendly debate in Nevada. "We need to get this campaign where it should be. We're all family in the Democratic Party."

Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black president, said Clinton and the other top contender, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, were both committed to civil rights.

"We can't solve these challenges unless we can come together as a people and we're not resorting to the same -- or falling into the same traps of division that we have in the past," he said.

With Obama winning Iowa and Clinton coming back to take New Hampshire, Nevada looms as the next crucial battleground in the Democratic race to choose candidates for the November election to succeed President George W. Bush.

The debate in Las Vegas was the final face-to-face confrontation for the Democrats before Saturday's contest. A recent poll said Obama had a slight lead over Clinton in the state, with Edwards close behind in third.

It featured none of the heated exchanges that marked the last Democratic debate in New Hampshire, as all three of the contenders took a decidedly more low-key approach.

Obama said he regretted his comment to Clinton in that debate that she was "likable enough" had been interpreted as a dig at her. "My intention was to say you are plenty likable," he told Clinton.

The issue of race had dominated the Democratic nominating fight over the weekend, with Clinton accusing Obama on Sunday of distorting her remarks from last week that some said slighted black civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Obama had called the charge "ludicrous" and said Clinton had offended some Americans.

Both candidates backed away from the fight on the campaign trail on Monday, and looked anxious to end it during the debate.

"It is my responsibility to make sure that we're setting a clear tone in our campaign, and I take that responsibility very seriously, which is why I spoke yesterday and sent a message in case people were not clear that what we want to do is make sure that we focus on the issues," Obama said.

Edwards said he was proud of the fact a woman and a black were serious contenders for the White House.

"It says very good things about America," he said.

(Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Lori Santos)

(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)