Clinton says she's the candidate for the middle class but Obama gets key union endorsement

Hillary Rodham Clinton declared herself the candidate of middle class Americans as she struggled to hold off a hard-charging Barack Obama in upcoming Democratic contests in the industrial heartland that could determine the fate of her presidential campaign.

But it was Obama who collected a key labor union endorsement Friday, at the same time he criticized his rival for supporting legislation harmful to workers such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In the Republican race, John McCain, the party's presumptive nominee, was to receive an endorsement from former President George H.W. Bush on Monday, Republican officials said. The officials spoke …