Racial politics, quietly simmering for months, have burst into the open in the Democratic nomination fight between the woman who would be the first female president and the man who would be the first black. Will it make a difference to voters, black or white?
The first big test will be in the South Carolina primary a week from Saturday. It will be the first Democratic primary this year in a state with a substantial black population — as Michelle Obama declared over the weekend, "Ain't no black people in Iowa" — and the first in the South.
Clinton spent part of Monday praising King, the civil rights leader who was killed in 1968. Speaking at a ceremony honoring him in New York, she said, "I remember hearing him speak when I went with my church to downtown Chicago to see and hear for myself someone who had burst through the stereotypes and the caricatures, who could not be held back by being beaten or gassed or jailed."
But a lot of people were still talking about her comment that came out over the weekend, to the effect that King's dream of racial equality was realized only when President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
The remark didn't sit well with Audrey Quantano, a Harlem resident who said she hasn't made up her mind about whom to vote for. She described herself as a longtime Clinton supporter, but she was not happy about the comment about King.
"I'm still working on that one," she said. "I'm processing that one."
In South Carolina, Lonnie Randolph, president of the state chapter of the NAACP, said voters won't be swayed by "a sound bite taken out of context." Still, he said he wasn't surprised race had become an issue. "Remember this is America. Everything we do is about race," Randolph said.
Added Todd Shaw, an assistant professor of political science and African American studies at the University of South Carolina, "I don't think it's seismic, but I think it is having some impact."
Both sides are now trying — in public statements — to calm the furor before it gets out of control.
Clinton sent out a statement Monday night saying there had been "a lot of discussion and back and forth, much of which I know does not reflect what is in our hearts."
"I believe we must seek common ground," she said, and she added that "when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes — President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King — Senator Obama and I are on the same side."
Likewise, Obama, who had criticized her comment over the weekend, said Monday while campaigning in Nevada that it was time to stop "so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth." He said he sometimes disagrees with Clinton but he added, "I think that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have historically and consistently been on the right side of civil rights issues. ... I think that they care about the African American community and they care about all Americans and they want to see equal rights and equal justice in this country."
Clinton's husband, the former president, said last week that Obama was trying to sell a fairy tale, a comment that some in the Obama camp portrayed as having a racial tinge.
Bill Clinton has made the rounds of black radio, explaining his "fairy tale" reference to Obama — it was about Obama's opposition to the Iraq war, not his candidacy, Clinton said. Mending fences, the former president planned to return to the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show, and Sen. Clinton was to tape an hourlong appearance with Tyra Banks, a former model who hosts a daytime talk show popular with black women.
Sharpton said, "The whole thing sneaked up on them and has now become a major issue."
Indeed, the situation is especially vexing for Bill Clinton — so popular among black voters he was once nicknamed the first black president. Many in politics believe Hillary Clinton's popularity among black voters is derived almost entirely from their favorable view of her husband.
"He's not on the ballot, and Hillary is very white," said David Bositis, a scholar at the Joint Center for Political Studies, a black think tank. "Anything that is there for her is a superficial transference, not a permanent transference."
Sen. Clinton herself has tried to turn the tables, suggesting Obama doesn't hold a candle to King in terms of activism and results.
"Dr. King didn't just give speeches," she said on NBC's Meet the Press — a slap at Obama's oratory, which the Clinton campaign contends is rarely backed up by results.
The new focus on race — and its impact on the electorate — will not be known until the South Carolina primary Jan. 26, when blacks are expected to make up more than 50 percent of the Democratic electorate.
A CBS News-New York Times poll released Sunday showed Obama leading Clinton among blacks 49 percent to 34 percent. And a survey by The Washington Post and ABC News showed blacks now support Obama over Clinton by 60 percent to 32 percent; Clinton led in that category 52 percent to 39 percent a month ago.
Donna Brazile, a prominent Democratic strategist who criticized Bill Clinton for his "fairy tale" remark last week, said the controversy reflected the vastly different roles Obama and Hillary Clinton play in the contest.
"Obama represents reconciliation, while Hillary represents equal rights, civil rights and human rights for all," Brazile said. "You have a champion who's been on the front line and you have someone like Obama who has successfully navigated American politics without using race as an issue."
"I am calling on them both to let the moment pass," she said. "Instead of attacking each other, let's attack the problems we face as Americans, like poverty and the 47 million Americans without health care."
