Obama smashes Clinton in S.C. victory

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Barack Obama cruised to a decisive victory in South Carolina's presidential primary Saturday with overwhelming support from black voters and about one-fourth of whites as well, a win that leaves Hillary Clinton humbled and John Edwards staggering.

Clinton and her husband, the former president, fought hard in the final days to overtake the Illinois senator, or at least come close in a state where polls found she was the front-runner just last month.

Instead, she was projected to finish second, with former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards third. Edwards' showing in his native state, where he won the 2004 primary, is a potentially lethal blow to his already-underdog campaign.

With 3 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had 53 percent of the vote to Clinton's 32 percent. Edwards had 15 percent. The projections of final results were based on exit polls taken for a news consortium.

The result sets up a showdown between Obama, and Clinton in 22 states and American Samoa on Feb. 5, when primaries and caucuses will award a total of 1,678 pledged delegates. A candidate needs 2,205 delegates to be nominated.

Clinton tried mightily to create a no-lose scenario in South Carolina, leaving the state in mid-week to visit several Feb. 5 states while her husband, the former president, campaigned full-time in South Carolina, then returning herself Thursday for a final, frenetic 48 hours of campaigning. That would leave her campaign free to frame a comeback victory, if she scored one, as an upset, and second place as respectable, given expectations and the fact that she'd not been here full-time. But a loss is a loss, and braked whatever momentum she'd gained before.

Roughly half the state's voters were black, and many of them came to see the effort by Obama, an African-American, as a movement as much as a campaign.

His rallies in the African-American community fired passions rarely seen in politics, and supporters praised him in enthusiastic, even lofty terms.

"Nothing against Clinton, but Obama is making history," said Charlene Thompson, a Columbia purchasing agent.

Exit polls said Obama was pulling 81 percent of the black vote, while Clinton got 17 percent and Edwards 1 percent.

Clinton's loss is hardly a fatal blow, but it's a setback, particularly among black voters. Many said they were uneasy with anti-Obama comments this month from both Clintons, which they saw as nasty and demeaning.

Obama, Bill Clinton said in one widely noted comment, was engaging in a "the biggest fairy tale that I have ever seen" when describing the history of his Iraq war positions. Hillary Clinton also riled many black voters by saying, "Dr. (Martin Luther) King's dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act." Critics saw that as marginalizing Dr. King and condescending to black activism.

The Clinton rhetoric cooled by week's end, and the couple waded into the heart of the black community to try to slow Obama's momentum.

Clinton had another challenge here: To woo the white vote as native-son Edwards and his barnstorming bus tour crisscrossed the state.

Edwards rallied voters at places like Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville with his homespun talk and his disdain for the Obama-Clinton personal battles.

"Our party needs somebody speaking in a loud clear voice for all those Americans struggling to survive," he said in a typical statement.

Edwards was hurt by a widespread perception that he can't win the nomination.

"I like Edwards and that image of an underdog. But on the other hand, his status makes me back off and wonder why he's not doing better," said Barbara Jolley, a Rock Hill secretary.

Clinton was helped by a trend that's sustained her through every contest so far: Strength among women voters.

"I'm a female. I'm a mother of three daughters, and I have one female grandchild. And I'm old enough to remember prejudice," said Tracy Justice, a retired educator from Chester.

"All the candidates are saying the same things. I just want to get a woman in there," said Kathy Craig, a Rock Hill housewife.

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(c) 2008, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.