President Obama sells Reid to Las Vegas voters

LAS VEGAS (AP) - President Barack Obama played wingman Friday, heaping praise on Senate Majority Harry Reid and urging a divided electorate to choose his friend over Republican Sharron Angle.

"Harry is not the flashiest guy, let's face it," Obama said to peals of laughter outside a Las Vegas middle school. "Harry kind of speaks in a very soft voice. He doesn't move very quickly. He doesn't get up and make big stem-winding speeches. But Harry does the right thing."

At one point, Obama interrupted the crowd's chants.

"I appreciate everyone saying 'Obama,' but I want everyone to say 'Harry, Harry, Harry,"' Obama instructed, leading the crowd. "That's right."

Obama's get-out-the-vote rally followed similar visits in Portland, Minneapolis and Seattle, where a string of close contests could hand the House and Senate over to the GOP.

In Nevada, where the U.S. Senate race is locked in a dead heat, at question is whether Obama's coattails have shrunk since his historic 2008 victory that saw the Silver State turn blue.

A boisterous tea party movement fueled by economic frustrations has made Democrats its top targets, and Reid is running for a fifth term as Nevada confronts the highest unemployment rate in the country.

Jobless numbers released Friday showed the steady's foreclosure rate held steady at 14.4 percent, while unemployment grew in Nevada's largest cities. In Las Vegas, where glittering casinos once mushroomed in testament to the city's international allure and economic prowess, unemployment soared to a record high of 15 percent.

Reid introduced Obama at the rally, his voice faintly carrying through to the 9,000 people gathered outside Orr Middle School, where less than 11 percent of the student body is white. Reid has targeted minority voters.

"We never give up, do we Nevadans?" he said, drawing a smattering of applause.

A few streets away, "for sale" signs lined a modest neighborhood.

Foreclosures have devastated the once family friendly area, said Jerry Mastro, a 46-year-old construction worker who was lured to Las Vegas five years ago by stories of ample opportunity.

"I haven't seen things get better, and neither has anyone else in Las Vegas, I'll tell you that," said Mastro, an independent voter turned off by Reid and Angle.

The underemployed were among those who came out to hear Obama.

Stephanie Johnson, a single mother of three young sons, amassed $20,000 in student loans to become a medical assistant but hasn't found work in her field. To feed her children, she braids her friends' hair and cleans houses.

Reid seems sympathetic to her troubles, she concluded Friday as she waited for the rally to start.

"All the problems aren't because of him. At least he is trying," Johnson said.

Jay Jackson, a 46-year-old Las Vegas day laborer who clocks 30 hours during good weeks, said voters who blame their problems on Obama have short memories.

"He hasn't even been in office that long, and before he even got in, there were a lot of problems," Jackson said.

Reid acknowledged the dismal unemployment figures at a news conference earlier Friday, where he heralded thousands of new jobs in roadway construction, the latest jobs event he has held in the final days of the election.

"We found ourselves in a hole that I didn't dig, but I have dug, dug and dug to try to get out of that hole," Reid said.

Republicans dismissed the notion that Obama might provide a much-needed boast to their opponents.

Angle greeted the presidential invasion with a new television spot titled "Welcome to Nevada, Mr. President." The ad contrasts Obama's uplifting promises as a candidate against Nevada's dark economy. Before the rally, Angle sent an e-mail to supporters that boasted her campaign had received $150,000 in contributions through its anti-Obama offense.

Democrats hold a notable edge over Republicans among registered voters in Nevada, but unpredictable independent voters make up roughly 21 percent of the electorate. In Clark County, Democrats have built a steady lead since early voting began Oct. 16, with 41,560 votes cast compared with 33,747 from Republicans as of Thursday.

Obama voters carried U.S. Rep. Dina Titus into office in 2008. At the rally, she begged for an encore.

"You are my army," Titus said. "You are my family, and we need you now more than ever to help Democrats win this."

But her rival, Republican Joe Heck, said Obama's shine has tarnished

"Nothing has improved in Congress," Heck told The Associated Press. "In fact, things have gotten much, much worse since he took office."