Democrats Get Ready for South Carolina

Photograph of Obama, Clinton and Edwards at an event in Columbia, S.C. by Elise Amendola/AP

With the South Carolina's Democratic primary on this coming Saturday, the three leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards gathered together at a Martin Luther King Day Jr. debate in Columbia, S.C. When Clinton addressed the crowd, she said, "We have come so far together. Barack Obama, an extraordinary, young African-American man with so much to contribute. John Edwards, a son of the South — in fact, a son of South Carolina. And a woman — all of us running for president of the United States of America!”

The NY Times reports "disapproving murmurs spread" because she referred to Obama as a "young" man; she also referred to hearing Dr. King speak when she was a teen. Edwards also called Obama "young": "To be able to be on the stage in my native state with an extraordinary and talented young man who's running for the presidency of the United States and is African-American makes me so proud of my state." Obama was the most warmly received, and reminded voters about the dirtiness of campaigning, “Every day, our politics fuels and exploits divisions across races and region, across gender and party. It’s played out on television, it’s sensationalized in the media, and it’s crept into the presidential campaign in a way that serves to obscure the issues.”

Earlier this morning, Obama told Good Morning America that former President Bill Clinton's "advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling...He continues to make statements that are not supported by the facts -- whether it's about my record of opposition to the war in Iraq or our approach to organizing in Las Vegas. This has become a habit, and one of the things that we're going to have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he's making statements that are not factually accurate." Bill Clinton's remarks about Obama have even prompted House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn suggest the former President "chill a little bit."

Some might say what Bill Clinton really needs is some rest. The NY Post has video of him catching some zzz's during a Harlem church service yesterday. The Post recalls that Bill has fallen asleep during many events, including "a Mets game and at Ronald Reagan's funeral."

Tonight's Democratic debate will be on CNN at 8PM.