Obama fights back against Bill Clinton

Clinton on Sunday appeared in Harlem, the largely black New York City neighborhood where her husband opened an office. Bill Clinton carried the support of blacks in his campaigns and his wife hoped for the same.

The Rev. Calvin Butts, a supporter of the former first lady, introduced her at a service in the Abyssinian Baptist Church as someone who "has been our friend" before officially endorsing her. As dozens of Obama supporters shouted "Harlem for Obama," Clinton's supporters tried to drown them out by shouting "Hil-la-ry!"

Clinton spoke warmly of her opponent saying, "I recognize what a challenging choice this is."

Obama's and Clinton's campaigns engaged in several days of back and forth after some interpreted her comments about King as minimizing his role in the passage of landmark civil rights legislation. The two candidates called a truce on that issue last week.

The Republican race was no easier for that party's candidates.

Mitt Romney, the Mormon millionaire who coasted to a largely uncontested win in Nevada's Republican primary Saturday, and Rudy Giuliani wasted no time in heaping criticism on McCain. Their jabs, in line with the recession worries that have come to dominate the race, were couched in economic terms.

Giuliani, who has yet to win a primary and has staked his candidacy on Florida, attacked McCain for siding with Democrats in voting against Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. Romney, buoyed by wins in Nevada, Michigan and Wyoming, portrayed the Arizona senator as a consummate Washington insider.

McCain now says he supports making the tax cuts permanent because doing otherwise would amount to a tax increase. He struck back at Giuliani, chiding the former New York City mayor at a news conference for his 0-6 record in the early primaries and caucuses.

The Arizona senator defeated preacher-turned-politician Mike Huckabee in South Carolina, a bastion of conservatism. McCain had 33 percent of the vote to just under 30 percent for his closest rival. He won 19 delegates to the national convention that will choose the party candidates, to five for Huckabee.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson trailed in third in South Carolina, where the former "Law & Order" star had needed a strong showing.

The jabs reflected the stakes going into Florida where polls show McCain, Giuliani, Romney and Huckabee bunched together. Three candidates have won contests in six states thus far, making for no clear front-runner.

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