COLUMBIA, S.C. — It was to be a show of unity: The two top Democratic candidates for president were to march to a rally Monday, passing in the shadow of a Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds, to celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
But while Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama were on hand to make speeches at the rally, only Obama arrived in time to march through the streets of this Southern capital. And in a sign of how the once-cordial Democratic contest has become twisted by a debate over race, some African Americans in the audience took Clinton's absence as a snub.
Even the most routine stops on the campaign trail now are taking a combustible air. Clinton's aides said she had been delayed by "confusion" over the time her plane was to leave for South Carolina, but some in the audience said the senator from New York should have marched in the parade, joining Obama.
Thomas Bell, 45, a clergyman from Camden, S.C., said that politicians often visit when it is in their interest. "But this particular march is important to us because of what Dr. King stood for."
The tensions spilled into Monday night's Democratic presidential debate, in which Clinton and Obama -- in a forum that also included candidate John Edwards -- repeatedly squared off in bitter, sometimes personal exchanges over their policy proposals and legislative records.
A day earlier in New York, a raw moment played out after Clinton attended services at a famous black church in Harlem. As she passed out hot chocolate and coffee to the crowd in the freezing weather, one man turned away and yelled at her not to come to Harlem to "steal" the black vote from Obama.
On Saturday, racial dynamics had been at work in the Nevada caucuses. Clinton won that contest, powered by white and Latino votes. But in an illustration of the racial divide, runner-up Obama picked up 83% of the black vote.
And in another possible sign of how race is shaping the campaign, the former first lady on Monday seemed to be downgrading her role in South Carolina's primary, the next contest on the Democratic calendar and one in which black voters make up about half of the electorate.
She came to the state and left with no plans to return before Thursday. Instead of trying to boost her odds in South Carolina, Clinton will use the next few days to campaign in other states, including California, New Mexico and Arizona -- all of which vote Feb. 5 and have large Latino populations.
