The New York Times-20080126-Democratic Hopefuls Seek to Widen Appeal Beyond Core Groups
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Democratic Hopefuls Seek to Widen Appeal Beyond Core Groups
As Democrats headed on Friday toward the finish line of their first presidential primary in the South, the three candidates sought to widen their appeal to voters outside their core support groups.
The candidates and their allies also had a late round of sparring. In a swing here, John Edwards accused Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama of bringing New York and Chicago politics to South Carolina, while calling himself the sole grown-up in the race.
Speaking to reporters about 35 miles from his hometown, Seneca, Mr. Edwards appeared buoyed by a poll showing small gains of support in a state that he won in the 2004 primaries.
Advisers pointed to that poll, as well as Mrs. Clinton's return here on Thursday after a two-day absence, as signs that Mr. Edwards is making a strong drive for runner-up behind Mr. Obama, who appears to be in the lead.
While they're intent on tearing each other down, Mr. Edwards said, I'm intent on building up the people of South Carolina, giving them a real chance, focusing on jobs, health care, things that really affect their day-to-day lives.
His campaign released a television commercial on Friday, Grown Up, using scenes from the Democratic debate on Monday when Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama fired back at each other and Mr. Edwards intervened, calling it squabbling.
Mr. Obama raced through five campaign stops, making last-minute appeals in each corner of the state in a contest critical to his candidacy.
Before holding rallies in Clemson, Florence and Columbia, Mr. Obama sat down with small groups of women at two round-table events, seeking to increase his support among women, who have favored Mrs. Clinton in the last two states in the Democratic nominating fight.
Men honestly should be carrying the same burden, Mr. Obama told a women's discussion group in Charleston. But I'll be honest with you. Women are carrying a bigger load. The reason I know this? I was raised by a single mom.
Although Mr. Obama enjoys a strong base of support among African-American voters, who state Democratic officials predict will be up to 60 percent of the voters on Saturday, he also drew a predominantly white crowd of several thousand into the chill of an outdoor amphitheater at Clemson University.
Race has weighed heavily in the contest, particularly in exchanges between supporters of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama. Strategists for Mr. Obama worry that the discussions have driven whites away from his candidacy, and some polls this week suggested that his support among whites had fallen off.
If the trend materializes in the voting, his ability to transcend race could come into question and pose complications in the more than 20 states that vote on Feb. 5.
Another new poll, by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, suggested growing racial polarization nationally in the Democratic contest after weeks of discussion about race that began with Mrs. Clinton's remarks about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that some Obama supporters portrayed as minimizing Dr. King's role in enacting civil rights laws.
In the poll last month, Mrs. Clinton held a 40 percent to 23 percent lead over Mr. Obama among whites, as well as support from a majority of African-Americans. Mrs. Clinton's lead among whites has widened, 53 percent to 24 percent, and Mr. Obama has a 63 percent to 23 percent lead over Mrs. Clinton among African-Americans.
For her part, Mrs. Clinton pursued a two-front strategy on Friday as she courted black voters and shook hands at a barbecue joint while her advisers sought to put Mr. Obama on the defensive over the Iraq war and remarks praising Republicans.
Mrs. Clinton spent the morning at Benedict College, a predominantly black institution in Columbia, the state capital, emphasizing her plans to increase Pell grants, simplify student loans and provide tax credits for college tuition.
As she ate pulled pork and collard greens with supporters, Mrs. Clinton's advisers held a conference call with reporters, ostensibly to address Obama campaign attacks. But the participants, including the chief strategist, Mark Penn; Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts; and a former White House spokesman, Mike McCurry, mostly recycled the attacks between the Clinton and Obama camps.
Mrs. Clinton's campaign also announced that she would support seating nominating delegates from Florida and Michigan at the national convention in August, despite party rules that punished those states for unilaterally moving up their primaries to January.
Although Mrs. Clinton, like other Democrats, promised not to campaign in either state, she ended up winning the Michigan primary.
Appearing on Today on NBC-TV on Friday, Mrs. Clinton was confronted with a photograph of her and President Clinton standing alongside Antoin Rezko, a Chicago businessman who has been indicted on fraud charges.
Mrs. Clinton said she had no memory of posing with Mr. Rezko, once a major fund-raiser for Mr. Obama.
Records show that he never donated money to President Bill Clinton or Mrs. Clinton. Political insiders said the photo might have been taken at a 1997 fund-raiser in Chicago for Senator Carol Moseley Braun. Others involved in the presidential race said the photo could have been taken at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1996, as the Clintons posed with well-wishers.
Mr. Obama has given to charity more than $85,000 in donations that Mr. Rezko and his associates made to his earlier campaigns. Mr. Obama said in an interview with ABC News on Wednesday that he had given away any money that we know was associated to Mr. Rezko.
The New York Times reported last year that records and interviews with Mr. Rezko's associates suggested he had raised more than $150,000 for Mr. Obama from 1996 through 2004. Mr. Obama added in the television interview that if there's additional information we don't know about, we'd be happy to return the money.
[Illustration]PHOTOS: John Edwards at a news conference Friday in Columbia, S.C. He said he was the sole grown-up in the Democratic primary.(PHOTOGRAPH BY JACOB SILBERBERG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES); Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigned on Friday at Benedict College in Columbia with fellow New Yorkers, Representative Charles B. Rangel and former Mayor David N. Dinkins.(PHOTOGRAPH BY TODD HEISLER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)