COLUMBIA, S.C. — Taking their cue from slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Democratic presidential candidates on Monday put aside last week’s political barbs and called for unity on the steps of the state Capitol.
The candidates — Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards — are heading into Saturday’s primary here, where at least half the voters are expected to be black.
Each presidential hopeful vowed to work on furthering King’s vision of equal opportunity and credited his work for helping to pave the way for their candidacies. If elected, Obama would be the first black president and Clinton the first female president.
“We have come so far together,” said Clinton, speaking to thousands of people — primarily black — who turned out for the King Day rally, despite chilly weather. “That we stand here is a measure of Dr. King’s work.”
Obama said moral and economic deficits were politically bankrupting the country and that the “barriers of equality and justice” had to come down.
He also noted that some have called him too idealistic and a “hope-monger.”
“I had to be hopeful to be standing here today,” said the Illinois senator, receiving perhaps the loudest applause of the day. Although all three candidates were scheduled to march with hundreds of people from a nearby church to the Capitol, only Obama took part.
Edwards, who despite a poor showing at the Nevada caucuses vowed to continue campaigning, said that he, Clinton and Obama were on “the march to justice and equality.”
In two camps
Most of the crowd was split between the Clinton and Obama camps.
Obama is leading in the polls here.
Dressed in black suits and gold ties, a handful of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers from Claflin University said they were backing Obama.
“Besides the fact that it would be history-making, he has a lot of character,” said Antoine Marshall, 20.
His fraternity brother Brian Colclough, 22, dismissed critics who say Obama, 46, doesn’t have enough experience.
“Does anyone? No one ever has enough experience to be president of the United States,” he said.
Holding a Clinton sign a few feet away, John Herbert disagreed.
“Clinton has the experience. She’s the one who can get the economy back on track and do something about the health care problem,” said Herbert, 37, who owned three car-detailing shops eight years ago and is now down to one.
A smattering of people, such as Tracy David, were on the fence about Clinton and Obama.
“I like Hillary because I know she can do the job. She’s firm and tough,” said David, 41. “Obama? I like the fact that he’s the only black candidate who has ever come this far. But I need to hear a little more from him.”
Confederate flag nearby
All three candidates spoke on the front steps of the Capitol, facing a waving Confederate flag. Although they didn’t mention it, a number of local black leaders and members of the NAACP who spoke before the candidates lambasted the flag, which was moved from atop the Capitol to the outer periphery of the statehouse lawn in 2000.
“It is the universal symbol of bigotry, hatred and white supremacy,” said Lonnie Randolph, president of the South Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The Democrats’ conciliatory speeches come on the heels of political jabs thrown by all of them as they fight for the Democratic nomination.
Additionally, former President Clinton has accused Obama of exaggerating his anti-war record and alleged Obama’s campaign intimidated union voters in the Nevada caucuses.
Obama responded Monday in an interview on ABC that Bill Clinton was not being truthful.
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
