GOP Candidates Turn to Fla., Democrats to S.C.

Hillary Clinton, who won this weekend's Nevada caucus thanks to women and Hispanics, but lost among African-Americans, made a strong pitch for South Carolina's black voters today.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), New York: Our job was hard enough already. But after the past seven years, it is that much harder.

But we cannot afford to wait any longer. It is time for us not only to stand up and speak out, but to act and to vote. And I hope every single eligible voter in the state of South Carolina will vote on this Saturday.

Make sure your voices and your votes are heard and counted, because there could not be more at stake.

MARGARET WARNER: John Edwards, the winner of his party's South Carolina primary four years ago, said the field of Democratic contenders this year is testament to King's work.

FORMER SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), Presidential Candidate: And I want to say to everyone, whether you're here supporting Senator Obama, whether you're here supporting Senator Clinton, or whether you're here supporting me, every one of us, all three of us, are on the journey with you on the march to equality and justice and fairness in the United States of America. And we are in this cause together every step of the way.

MARGARET WARNER: Barack Obama told the audience that his message of the need to transcend partisan and racial divisions reflects King's lifelong mission.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), Illinois: King inspired with words, not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today. He said, "Unity is the great need of the hour. Unity is the great need of the hour."

In South Carolina, unity is the great need of this hour, not because it sounds nice or because it makes us feel good, but because it's the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.

I'm talking about the moral deficit in America. I'm talking about an empathy deficit that exists.

MARGARET WARNER: Earlier in the day, in a taped interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," Obama deplored former President Bill Clinton's attacks on him on behalf of Hillary Clinton.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: He continues to make statements that aren't 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.

You know, this has become a habit. And one of the things that I think we're going to have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he's not making statements that are factually accurate.

MARGARET WARNER: The Democrats will meet again tonight in a nationally televised debate from Myrtle Beach.

Hi, Judy, you were at that rally today in Columbia where the three candidates met after several days of very tough back-and-forth, at least between Clinton and Obama. Did those tensions spill over into today's event?

JUDY WOODRUFF: You're right, Margaret. This is a newly charged atmosphere in this debate, particularly between the Obama and the Clinton campaigns. And we saw -- every one was looking for any evidence that that would play out in any way today.

And we didn't see it overtly, except for one comment that Senator Obama made. He talked about the political divisions. And at one point, he said they've crept into this campaign, they're overshadowing the issues.

But that was mild compared to what we're hearing back and forth behind the scenes by the candidates, strategists, others who are working for the candidates.

And I should note, Margaret, when Hillary Clinton commented on and thanked Barack Obama and John Edwards, she made a point of saying "the young" -- I want to quote what she said -- she described Barack Obama as an "extraordinary young African-American man with so much to contribute."

JUDY WOODRUFF: They are going after it in every way they possibly can, Margaret. You're right. It is expected to be at least 50 percent of the vote next Saturday. And each campaign has its own strategy.

Interestingly, we used to think of the ministers, the churches in the South, and especially in the state of South Carolina, exerting enormous influence, and they still do.

But I've been reminded over the four days that I've been here in South Carolina that the community is much more widespread than that, that there's a business community, the African-American business community, the legal community, in hair salons, barber shops, in all the walkways of life.

So it's not just in the churches, although those have enormous influence. And the Obama campaign boasted it has 128-some ministers who are working for him. The Clinton campaign has said they have many ministers.

But that is not the whole story. It is a hard-fought battle right now. The polls show, for what they're worth -- and we always put a caveat in there --that Barack Obama is doing better among the African-American vote, but we know that there are several days to go before they actually vote.