LAS VEGAS — Sen. Barack Obama yesterday railed against "slash and burn" politics in Washington in a brief stop in Nevada, his first since declaring his presidential ambitions.

"We've got to get beyond the small politics ... the slash and burn politics that have become the custom in Washington," the Illinois senator told a crowd of about 3,500 gathered at an outdoor amphitheater in Las Vegas.

Obama, who was born in Hawai'i and is a Punahou School graduate, promised to restore a sense of hope and community to the country.

"We all have a stake in each other. We are bound together; we are mutually responsible to make sure that every child has an opportunity, to make sure that every family has the capacity to support their children and look for a better future," he said.

He repeated his calls for more education funding and for the return of significant numbers of U.S. troops from Iraq by March 31. He also promised to reform the healthcare system in his first term in the White House.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has not endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate, but his son has.

Rory Reid is signing on as Nevada chairman for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid. Reid, 44, is chairman of Nevada's Clark County Commission and a former chairman of the Nevada State Democratic Party.