Jan 14, 2008 10:09 pm US/Central
Clinton vs. Obama Taking An Ugly Turn
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Presidential hopefuls Sens. Hillary Clinton (l) and Barack Obama.
AP, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The party's getting rough, the Democratic Party, that is and it's a fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the presidential nomination.
A new CBS News/New York Times survey found her lead nationwide is shrinking, but still substantial: 42 percent to his 27 percent in a sample of American Democrats. CBS 2's political editor Mike Flannery reports on the battle that's taking an ugly turn Monday night.
For the first time, race is explicitly a factor in the Democratic debate. Sen. Clinton claims Obama put it there by intentionally misinterpreting a remark she made about Martin Luther King Jr. Obama asserts the fault is hers, that she made the comment that offended many African-Americans.
While campaigning in Nevada in advance of this Saturday's caucus elections there, Sen. Obama got right to the point when CBS-News correspondent Byron Pitts asked about the racial back and forth.
"As I said, this is more back than forth; this is a strategy on their part," Obama said.
Are Bill and Hillary Clinton perhaps the two white politicians most popular among African-American voters?
Chicago-based political consultant Don Rose, said "they are in a relatively tight and close-to-desperate situation here."
After Hillary Clinton lost big to Obama in Iowa, her campaign and, in particular, her husband the former president, began blasting the Illinois senator at every stop, as well as the media's alleged love affair with Obama.
Bill Clinton: "Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen," Bill Clinton said.
The Obama who'd be First Spouse fired at that remark at an African-American awards ceremony.
"To dismiss this moment as an illusion -- a "fairy tale," we're going to have to dig deep into our souls and confront our own self-doubt and recognize that our destiny is our hands," Michelle Obama said.
Then, with Hillary Clinton present, a Clinton supporter referred to Obama's youthful use of illegal drugs, something he described in his book.
"It's dangerous to raise the racial issue. It's dangerous both to her as a candidate. But I think that's the only strategy they see for stopping Obama," Rose said.
In a press release, Hillary Clinton stated: "Over this past week, there has been a lot of discussion and back and forth - much of which I know does not reflect what is in our hearts. We differ on a lot of things. And it is critical to have the right kind of discussion on where we stand. But 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."
The Obama campaign believes a new CBS-New York Times poll shows the real reason behind all of this. Obama's now taken a commanding lead over Sen. Clinton among African-American voters.
Attempting damage control, Bill Clinton told WVON's Roland Martin that he believes Obama might one day make a good President, but that right now his wife, Hillary, would make a much better President.
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