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Democratic candidates unite under MLK’s banner |
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By Klaus Marre
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Posted: 01/21/08 03:56 PM [ET] |
The three top Democratic presidential candidates, who are rarely together in one place except the debate stage, joined in Columbia, S.C., Monday to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and heap praise upon each other.
Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) called his rivals Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) “outstanding competitors, but partners in the Democratic Party,” and he praised their “excellent leadership.”
Edwards went further in applauding the two front-runners in the race for the party’s nomination.
“To be on a stage … with an extraordinary and talented young man who is running for the presidency of the United States and who is African-American makes me so proud of my state and my country, and it says such good things about the progress that we’ve made in America,” Edwards said. “I also am proud to be on the stage with a woman who has an opportunity to speak on behalf of so many women whose voices have been left unheard, whose voices have been muffled.”
The former senator, who trails the two senators significantly in national and South Carolina polls, told the crowd at a rally in memory of Dr. King that all three Democrats “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.”
The remarks came after some sharp rhetoric on race issues flew between the Clinton and Obama campaigns. However, the candidates held back in the last debate last week, seeking to put the matter behind them.
Clinton also joined the chorus, noting that the Democratic field shows how far the country has come. She referred to her two competitors as her “distinguished friends,” and called Obama “extraordinary.”
While the spirit of the rally could carry over into the Democrats’ Monday night debate in the Palmetto State, their gloves may come off again later this week, as Obama and Clinton battle to win that state’s primary to create momentum going into Super Tuesday on Feb. 5.
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