Vilsack Jabs Obama for Skipping AFSCME Forum

ABC News’ David Chalian, Teddy Davis, and Matthew Zavala Report: On the eve of the formal declaration of his candidacy, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., drew fire from a Democratic presidential rival for his decision to skip an upcoming candidates’ forum in Carson City, Nev.

"Unfortunately, not all the candidates will be there but enough of us will be there for people to get a sense of the depth and substance of all of us," former Gov. Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa, said Friday in reference to the Feb. 21 forum sponsored by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees which will be moderated by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.

The thinly veiled jab from Vilsack comes on top of a press release from the Republican National Committee portraying Obama as the "Dem Dodger."

Obama’s campaign says that the Illinois lawmaker is skipping the AFSCME forum because he will be campaigning in Iowa.

Among the Democrats participating at the Feb. 21 forum where the candidates will appear back-to-back will be Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. and former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.

Vilsack made his comments while on a conference call with reporters to announce that his campaign is releasing the names of 1,100 committed Iowa caucus-goers.

Jerry Crawford, a Vilsack supporter who chaired Sen. John Kerry’s, D-Mass., come-from-behind Iowa win in 2004, said Vilsack’s cultivation of committed caucus-goers mirrors what Kerry did when he triumphed over former Gov. Howard Dean, D-Vt.