An early tussle over Hollywood's war chest

Obama refused to disavow Geffen's statements. "It's not clear to me why I'd be apologizing for someone else's remark," he said while campaigning in Iowa.

'A very positive campaign'

Appearing at a candidates' forum in Nevada, Clinton was far more conciliatory than her aides.

"I want to run a very positive campaign, and I sure don't want Democrats or the supporters of Democrats to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction," she said.

Later, she added: "I believe Bill Clinton was a good president," provoking boisterous applause, in an apparent response to Geffen's criticisms, from the audience of labor union activists.

She demurred when asked whether Obama should renounce Geffen's attacks. "I'm going to leave that up to the other campaign," she said.

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tina.daunt@latimes.com

peter.wallsten@latimes.com

Daunt reported from Los Angeles and Wallsten from Washington. Times staff writer Stephen Braun in Washington contributed to this report.