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Clintons target civil rights
04/03/2007 14:22 - (SA)
Selma - Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, along with former President Bill Clinton, take their high-voltage fight for the White House to a hallowed symbol of the US civil rights movement on Sunday.
The trio of political stars descends on the small town of Selma, Alabama, for a series of events commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the 1965 civil rights march, a historic milestone in the drive to end racial segregation in America's South.
The early campaign collision between Clinton and Obama, the top two contenders for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, is another sign of the budding intensity of their rivalry.
Obama, who hopes to become the first black president in US history, had been scheduled to give the keynote address at the ceremonies for weeks. Clinton, refusing to cede any black support to Obama, decided to attend as well.
The two candidates will give nearly simultaneous speeches in Selma churches less than a block apart. They will then walk with others across the Edmund Pettis Bridge, where state troopers violently attacked black marchers in a confrontation that drew national attention and helped lead to passage of voting rights legislation.
Bill Clinton will receive a civil rights award during the ceremonies in what will be his first campaign appearance with his wife since she entered the White House race in January.
Obama will begin the day early at a unity prayer breakfast in Selma and make a morning stop to visit with supporters before delivering his address.
Carnival atmosphere
The confluence of candidates, a former president, a host of other top political and civil rights figures and a swelling horde of media promises a carnival atmosphere at the annual ceremonies.
The showdown comes as recent polls show Obama slicing Clinton's national lead and gaining ground among black voters as they become more familiar with the freshman Illinois senator. Clinton, a New York senator whose husband is hugely popular with black voters, had enjoyed big leads over Obama.
The event highlights the potential importance of black voters, typically the most loyal Democratic constituency, in early 2008 primaries. In Alabama, which has not set a date for its primary but could hold it in early February 2008, blacks could constitute more than 40% of the total vote.
Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio that his rise in the polls among black voters mirrored a similar increase during his 2004 campaign for the US senate in Illinois.
"The notion that I'm not dominating the black vote in the polls makes perfect sense because I have only been on the national scene a certain number of years, and people don't yet know my track record," Obama said.
The Obama and Clinton campaigns recently sparred over critical comments about the Clintons by Hollywood mogul David Geffen, who hosted a fund raiser for Obama.
The two candidates sit atop most polls of the Democratic 2008 race, with former senator John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, running third and forming a strong top tier. Five other Democrats also are running for the White House.
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