On Eve of King Holiday, Race Dominates Democratic Campaign

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: On Eve of King Holiday, Race Dominates Campaign
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: January 21, 2008

ATLANTA — As he stood at the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church here, addressing worshipers at the former congregation of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Senator Barack Obama was doing something Sunday that he has rarely done in his months of campaigning for the presidency. He was appearing before a black audience, and he was speaking about race. For nearly a year, as the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination wound through Iowa and New Hampshire, Mr. Obama has strived to run a race-neutral campaign. Yet this week, as the campaign converges on South Carolina, a new test is at hand for Mr. Obama: Can he draw significant support from African-Americans while maintaining the appeal of a candidate who seeks to transcend race?...

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As Democrats headed to South Carolina to campaign in earnest for the primary on Saturday, state party officials estimate that black voters could make up 60 percent of the electorate. Those projections increased an already fierce competition among Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton and John Edwards, all of whom will share a stage Monday at a debate that will be focused, in part, on racial issues....

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The overt discussion of race could complicate an already vexing political terrain among white and black voters in South Carolina, particularly in a three-way contest. Democratic strategists believe that Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina, draws significant support from white voters and could erode some of Mrs. Clinton’s backing, while polls show that Mr. Obama has increased his standing from a wide majority of black voters.

A victory in South Carolina is crucial for Mr. Obama. While polls show that Mr. Obama has an advantage, Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton are aggressively campaigning across the state this week, with Mr. Clinton focusing heavily on black voters. In an interview on ABC News on Sunday, Mr. Obama suggested that he intended to “directly confront Bill Clinton when he’s making statements that are not factually accurate.”...

Before flying to South Carolina on Sunday, Mr. Obama’s appearance at Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta offered a glimpse into the next phase of the campaign, which almost certainly is shaping up to be a protracted state-by-state fight. Georgia is among the 22 states holding primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5....For Mr. Obama, the appearance at Ebenezer Baptist marked a rare time that a service at a predominantly black church has been included on his campaign schedule. It was the beginning of a transition in his strategy, as the primary moves to more diverse states, aides say, and he brings to the fore his effort to appeal to black voters while working to reassure some skeptics of his electability....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/us/politics/21memo.html?ref=todayspaper