LOS ANGELES — At a time and place where presence is everything, Sen. Barack Obama won the pre-debate festivities with a large and boisterous crowd of supporters.

They chanted, banged drums, danced and waved signs and drowned out many of Sen. Hillary Clinton's supporters' cheers.

The presence was a well-orchestrated effort that included both sign management and rally directing in true Hollywood style. Obama volunteers with earpieces directed late attendees to fill in spots along the railing of the second floor outside the Kodak Theater, telling them Clinton signs were getting too heavy in that area.

They barked direction as well, telling some to move out of the way to make room for new supporters and made sure the loudest Obamaniacs were seen by the TV cameras filming.

Here's one scene:

Rosa Garcia, a Clinton supporter from Los Angeles standing on the sidelines, said the big Obama presence gave her a bit of a scare but she still thinks Clinton will win California on Tuesday. "If we want a better country we need Hillary. I know she's got a lot of support," she said.

I asked Sean Sweeney, the 36-year-old actor seen in that top photo, if he was such a "cool" person. His response: "I'm just holding this for somebody." He also dismissed polls showing Clinton the lead in the Golden State. "She's a brand name. Obama is going to win," he said.

As far as debate settings go, Charleston was pretty great, but this one tops the rest. After the brutal cold in all four early contests — even Nevada and South Carolina! — I'm thrilled to see some sunshine in my home state.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

JUST OUTSIDE OF KANSAS CITY — Team Obama just told reporters on a conference call the campaign raised $32 million in the month of January alone.

The haul comes thanks in part to 170,000 new donors, many of whom are volunteering for Sen. Barack Obama in their home states.

Campaign manager David Plouffe said the biggest cash infusion came Jan. 9 — the day after Obama lost to Sen. Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire.

The money will allow the campaign to start running ads in the states beyond Super Tuesday starting tomorrow — including Maine, Louisiana, Washington state and Virginia and Maryland.

He said the money helps for a "vigorous" contest and is "critical to transacting what is a very challenging calendar."

No word yet on what former Sen. John Edwards will do with the record millions he raised this month.

UPDATE: I must have had a bad connection on the conference call because I had the donor figure wrong earlier. This post now has the correct info.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

JOPLIN, Mo. — The campaigns are waging aggressive volunteer efforts — encouraging their supporters to make phone calls, attend rallies and push get-out-the-vote efforts in the critical Super Tuesday states.

An Obama-supporting tipster told me he got a call from a volunteer asking for more than a small cash donation. The Obama volunteer, calling call from a nearby county, gave my tipster info on how to log into the campaign's system and call Democratic voters in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

The call script is standard stuff — "are you registered to vote," "can we count on you to support Sen. Barack Obama," and the like. But the interesting part was what the volunteer told the tipster to do if the voters support former Sen. John Edwards.

The instructions were to make sure the voters know that Edwards dropped out of the race. Then the volunteer instructed my tipster to tell voters that Edwards is expected to endorse Obama, perhaps as early as today.

That's not shocking, because there are few to no indications that Edwards would back Sen. Hillary Clinton. But the volunteer was insistent that my tipster spread this message in calls last night.

Being on Clinton's mailing list, I even got a call on the Blackberry Monday from an eager volunteer asking me to come into the Virginia headquarters to make calls. I politely declined.

Here's a recent pitch from Team Clinton:

With only 6 days until Super Tuesday, the campaign needs your help to get out the vote. Can Hillary count on you to pitch in at our National Headquarters for at least two volunteer shifts between now and February 5th?

If you can help this week, please reply to this email or give me a call ...

We need your help to get out the vote, and every call is critical. We have worked hard to make the best use of your time. By using a combination of new technology and targeting, we have increased the impact of every hour you spend in the office by allowing you to talk to more voters and win more votes.

Your support has been crucial to our campaign, and with just 6 days until Super Tuesday, Hillary needs your help again. Will you come to the headquarters phone bank in the next week?

If you want to come, please call me ... or reply to this email.

If we all pitch in, we can contact tens of thousands of voters every single day.

These are critical days, and with your help, we can help Hillary win.

Thank you,
Adrienne Benson
Hillary Clinton for President

Here's a story I have in today's paper with news from the campaign trail. I'm headed this morning to Los Angeles for the debate.

Until then, enjoy some of Allison Shelley's great photos from Arkansas.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Kitchen Express this morning was a one-stop shop for Sen. Hillary Clinton: she admired the heaping grits, was treated to a serenade by the "Black Elvis" and embraced a sobbing woman whose cancer treatment is being threatened by Medicare, promising to try and help.

The campaign invited supporters to the small diner to kick-off her homecoming event today before a rally at a North Little Rock high school.

She hugged old friends and held babies, but got the biggest smile on her face when Dwayne Turner walked into the restaurant in full Elvis garb. "Black Elvis!" she exclaimed. Her aides looked a bit horrified at the unscripted moment when he burst into song and Clinton swayed a bit in enjoyment, but it turned out okay.

On the way out, MaryAnne Thomas stopped Clinton to ask for her help. Sobbing, Thomas embraced the senator as she said Medicare wants to cut her off from her chemotherapy that is working as she faces multiple forms of cancer. When Thomas said her 77-year-old mother is considering refinancing her home to pay for her daughter's treatment, Clinton's eyes misted.

Clinton took down her name and number and said, "I'll see if there is anything I can do about this. I can't make promises to you but I can really try." She also talked about the need for universal health care.

Thomas praised Clinton once the senator left. "She is a lady who knows what the people need, what us regular people need," she said.

Clinton mentioned Thomas in a speech later, lauding her for her hard work and noting "She wasn't asking for any special privilege" but said she and every American deserve quality health care.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Former Sen. John Edwards, soon to be a former 2008 candidate as well, will embark on an "unprecedented" task after dropping out of the race this afternoon.

Edwards spokesman Mark Kornblau said his boss will give a speech in New Orleans and then will go work on construction of a Habitat for Humanity home.

"New Orleans is the symbolic heart of the campaign," Kornblau said, so it made sense to go full circle and end the presidential bid where it began more than a year ago.

He won't endorse a candidate at this time.

I am following Sen. Hillary Clinton today, and when asked about Edwards she said she would "let him speak" first in New Orleans before weighing in.

Sen. Barack Obama released a statement:

"John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn't popular to do or covered in the news. At a time when our politics is too focused on who's up and who's down, he made a nation focus again on who matters — the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington. John and Elizabeth Edwards have always believed deeply that we can change this — that two Americans can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may end today, the cause of their lives endures for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America."

Democratic sources told me that Edwards spoke to Clinton and Obama yesterday to let them know he was considering dropping out.

He asked them both if they would pledge to make ending poverty central to their campaigns and potential administrations, and each agreed.

Edwards had been promising to remain in the race through the nominating convention, but opted to drop out after it became clear his only role there would be to act as a "kingmaker" and hand over his delegates to another candidate.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

A staffer for Sen. Joe Biden writes in this morning to insist that the seating arrangements for the president's State of the Union Address on Monday were by chance and stamps out any whispers of a forthcoming endorsement.

Per Elizabeth Alexander:

"Sen. Biden and Sen. Clinton just walked in together and ended up sitting together with Senator Carper. Sen. Biden will endorse the Democratic nominee."

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — No one is answering the phones over at the Edwards campaign, but a source inside the campaign confirmed that former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina will drop out today during a speech in New Orleans.

Here's the AP report.

Just a few days ago Edwards was vowing to remain in the race through the convention, with a strategy of accumulating delegates on Super Tuesday.

Edwards had planned a speech on poverty in New Orleans, the site where he began his second presidential bid more than a year ago.

The question now becomes whether he will endorse Sen. Barack Obama. It's unlikely he would back Sen. Hillary Clinton, who he has targeted during the campaign as too inside Washington and beholden to corporate interests.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

TARMAC AT ATLANTA AIRPORT — Sen. Barack Obama is giving away more money linked to indicted Chicago developer Tony Rezko.

Here's the statement from spokesman Bill Burton, confirming the AP report.

"Senator Obama directed a further review of contributions made by family members and employees of Tony Rezko, and also by others who may have contributed through his efforts on behalf of the Senator's 2004 Senate campaign. As a result, the campaign is today donating to charity $72,650, equal to the total amount of contributions made by Mr. Rezko's family members, employees of his companies and those whose contributions may be connected to the fundraiser at his home. By refunding these donations, the campaign has returned any and all funds that could be reasonably credited to Mr. Rezko's political support."

Total amount: $149,985

Washington Times' investigative reporter Jerry Seper has a story on Rezko that will run in tomorrow's paper. Stay tuned and I'll link to it.

Team Clinton made sure reporters knew about the new donations, sending around this report from NBC.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

I'm heading to Arkansas shortly for Sen. Hillary Clinton's event there tomorrow morning. My colleague Sean Lengell sent in this dispatch from Florida:

Despite a hotly contested Republican race, polling stations throughout much of Florida were reporting modest turnouts. Elections officials cited early voting (Floridians may vote in national contests up to two weeks prior to election day) and a Democratic contest neutered after the national Democratic Party stripped the Sunshine State of its delegates when the Florida party moved its primary ahead of Feb. 5.

At Hillsborough County's Precinct 131 polling station in Tampa's affluent Hyde Park neighborhood, an election official at mid-day predicted a turnout of about 30 to 35 percent — about half the precinct's turnout for the 2004 presidential primary.

"Early voting definitely has an effect," said assistant precinct clerk Robert Arnold Walter. "It really takes the pressure off the polls late in the afternoon. In the 2004 [presidential election] it was like Disneyland here, we had lines everywhere."

Walter also cited some confusion among Democratic voters.

"One woman, a Democrat, came in and complained that her vote wasn't going to count," he said. "I said 'I can't help you with that.'"

Also today, Clinton scored the backing of California iconic Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters.

Some Democrats are wondering if New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will be endorsing her before his state's Super Tuesday primary. The former candidate is being courted by the campaigns.

Also, while cable networks work themselves up over Sen. Barack Obama's "snub" of Clinton, I found something more interesting about last night's seating chart at the State of the Union.

(AFP photo via Yahoo News)

That's Joe Biden sitting next to Clinton. The two looked quite friendly all night while Obama didn't leave Teddy Kennedy's side. Maybe he just found a nice spot to take in the view.

Or maybe Biden is leaning toward backing Clinton. I asked that question of several Biden aides today, and they didn't respond with any denials.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

It's pretty likely that Sen. Hillary Clinton will win Florida's Democratic primary today, and there's little doubt her campaign will cast it as a huge victory in the wake of her trouncing by Sen. Barack Obama in Saturday's South Carolina contest.

Team Obama has pushed back with a reminder that they all have pledged not to campaign there (despite the back-and-forth on this, the candidates really have avoided the Sunshine State) and that she has the "quasi-incumbent" advantage.

But New Hampshire's top newspaper told voters in a scathing editorial today "you were played for suckers" since Clinton held fundraisers in Florida Sunday.

"Hillary's word: It's worth nothing," was the headline on the piece, which also complained that Clinton kept her name on the Michigan ballot.

Clinton holds a wide lead in Florida now, and could win by as many as 20 or 30 points. But given that more than 1 million voters sent in absentee ballots over the last months, what if Obama comes within 10 points? Will Team Clinton still play it as a major achievement? (Answer: Yes.)

The Obama camp insists the delegates don't count, since the DNC has stripped the state of its delegates. But as reported here, Clinton is now saying she wants the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be seated at the convention and if it's still a close race come summer, you can bet this will be a big deal.

"Clinton coldly and knowingly lied to New Hampshire and Iowa. Her promise was not a vague statement. It was a signed pledge with a clear and unequivocal meaning," the Union-Leader wrote.

"She signed it thinking that keeping the other candidates out of Michigan and Florida was to her advantage, but knowing she would break it if that proved beneficial later on. It did, and she did."

Clinton is heading down there — after the polls close, of course — for a victory speech in Davie.

Her win will help counter the "big mo" that Obama received from his Palmetto State win and from Sen. Teddy Kennedy's endorsement yesterday.

Here's my story from today's paper looking at Obama's oratory skills and how they prompted Kennedy to back his much younger colleague.

In her "Hill Gram" e-mail blast to female voters, Clinton counters the endorsement with her own Kennedy in the e-mail's "quote of the week."

"As a woman, leader, and person of deep convictions, I believe Hillary Clinton would make the best possible choice for president. She shares so many of the concerns of my father. Hillary has spent a lifetime speaking out on behalf of the powerless and working to alleviate poverty, in our country and around the world … At this moment when so much is at stake at home and overseas, I urge our fellow Americans to support Hillary Clinton. That is why my brother Bobby, my sister Kerry, and I are supporting Hillary Clinton."

— Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Two-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader today sent out this brutal assessment of the Clinton dynasty to his e-mail list of supporters. (Nader, a supporter of John Edwards, doesn't mention the former senator in his note.)

EIGHT MORE YEARS

By Ralph Nader

For Bill and Hillary Clinton, the ultimate American dream is eight more years. Yet how do you think they would react to having dozens of partisans at their rallies sporting large signs calling for EIGHT MORE YEARS, EIGHT MORE YEARS?

Don't you have the feeling that they would cringe at such public displays of their fervent ambition which the New York Times described as a "truly two-for-the-price-of-one" presidential race? It might remind voters to remember or examine the real Clinton record in that peaceful decade of missed opportunities and not be swayed by the sugarcoating version that the glib former president emits at many campaign stops.

The 1990's were the first decade without the spectre of the Soviet Union. There was supposed to be a "peace dividend" that would reduce the vast, bloated military budget and redirect public funds to repair or expand our public works or infrastructure.

Inaugurated in January 1993, with a Congress controlled by the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton sent a small job-creating proposal to upgrade public facilities. He also made some motions for campaign finance reform which he promised during his campaign when running against incumbent George H.W. Bush and candidate Ross Perot.

...

That set the stage for how Washington politicians sized up Clinton. He was seen as devoid of modest political courage, a blurrer of differences with the Republican opposition party and anything but the decisive transforming leader he promised to be was he to win the election.
He proceeded, instead, to take credit for developments with which he had very little to do with such as the economic growth propelled by the huge technology dot.com boom.

Bragging about millions of jobs his Administration created, he neglected to note that incomes stagnated for 80% of the workers in the country and ended in 2000, under the level of 1973, adjusted for inflation.

A brainy White House assistant to Mr. Clinton told me in 1997 that the only real achievement his boss could take credit for was passage of legislation allowing 12 weeks family leave, without pay.

There are changes both the Clinton Administration actively championed that further entrenched corporate power over our economy and government during the decade. He pushed through Congress the NAFTA and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements that represented the greatest surrender in our history of local, state and national sovereignty to an autocratic, secretive system of transnational governance. This system subordinated workers, consumers and the environment to the supremacy of globalized commerce.

That was just for starters. Between 1996 and 2000, he drove legislation through Congress that concentrated more power in the hands of giant agribusiness, large telecommunications companies and the biggest jackpot - opening the doors to gigantic mergers in the financial industry. The latter so-called "financial modernization law" sowed the permissive seeds for taking vast financial risks with other peoples' money (ie. pensioners and investors) that is now shaking the economy to recession.

The man who pulled off this demolition of regulatory experience from the lessons of the Great Depression was Clinton's Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin, who went to work for Citigroup - the main pusher of this oligopolistic coup - just before the bill passed and made himself $40 million for a few months of consulting in that same year.

Bill Clinton's presidential resume was full of favors for the rich and powerful. Corporate welfare subsidies, handouts and giveaways flourished, including subsidizing the Big Three Auto companies for a phony research partnership while indicating there would be no new fuel efficiency regulations while he was President.

His regulatory agencies were anesthetized. The veteran watchdog for Public Citizen of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, said that safety was the worst under Clinton in his twenty nine years of oversight.

The auto safety agency (NHTSA) abandoned its regulatory oath of office and became a consulting firm to the auto industry. Other agencies were similarly asleep — in job safety (OSHA) railroads, household product safety, antitrust, and corporate crime law enforcement.

By reappointing avid Republican Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, Mr. Clinton assured no attention would be paid to the visible precursors of what is now the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Mr. Greenspan, declined to use his regulatory authority and repeatedly showed that he almost never saw a risky financial instrument he couldn't justify.

...

To justify his invasion of Iraq, Bush regularly referred in 2002-2003 to Clinton's bombing of Iraq and making "regime change" explicit U.S. policy.

But it was Clinton's insistence on UN-backed economic sanctions in contrast to just military embargos, against Iraq, during his term in office. These sanctions on civilians, a task force of leading American physicians estimated, took half a million Iraqi children's lives.

...

Bill Clinton is generally viewed as one smart politician, having been twice elected the President, helped by lackluster Robert Dole, having survived the Lewinsky sex scandal, lying under oath about sex, and impeachment. When is it all about himself, he is cunningly smart.

But during his two-term triangulating Presidency, he wasn't smart enough to avoid losing his Party's control over Congress, or many state legislatures and Governorships.

It has always been all about him, Now he sees another admission ticket to the White House through his wife, Hillary Clinton. EIGHT MORE YEARS without a mobilized, demanding participating citizenry is just that - EIGHT MORE YEARS. It's small wonder that the editors of Fortune Magazine headlined an article last June with the title, "Who Business is Betting On?" Their answer, of course, was Hillary Clinton.

His criticism of Democrats is not solely reserved for the Clintons. He wrote this piece recently mocking Sen. Barack Obama.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

As Feb. 5 nears, the Democratic candidates have fanned out across the country to target as many Super Tuesday states as they can. Their Web sites offer visitors links to field offices in each of the nearly two dozen states where contests will be held next Tuesday.

I'm at the Obama/Teddy Kennedy rally now, where the elder senator gave a real barnburner of a speech that included loaded language seeming directed at the Clintons — deploring "old politics" multiple times and saying of Obama's opposition to the Iraq war, "Let no one deny that truth."

The Kennedy endorsement reignited rumors of an Al Gore blessing, but my sources within the former VP's circle insist that won't happen. Gore is writing a new book and working on his climate change nonprofits.

Both Clinton and Obama will attend tonight's State of the Union address, and then will hit the trail again. I've learned Obama's upcoming schedule may include stops in Utah, Missouri, Minnesota and New York.

Obama insiders say Kennedy give speeches in California, Arizona, New York, New Jersey and New Mexico.

Clinton was in Connecticut and Massachusetts today, will head to Florida "when the polls close" tomorrow to presumably give a victory speech, then will be in Arkansas and Atlanta on Wednesday.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CHAPIN, S.C. — I'll be leaving South Carolina shortly, so this is probably my only blog post of the day.

Until tomorrow, here's my story from today's paper about what's next for the Democratic candidates. I focused on Tricia Moseley, a Republican who voted for and volunteered on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama.

(Here is one of Astrid Riecken's great shots of Moseley.)

As I noted last night, Obama mentioned Moseley in his victory speech. About an hour later, I bumped into Moseley in downtown Columbia, who was beside herself with excitement.

The next stop for her is Georgia, where she will reach out to Republicans to try and convince them to vote for Obama.

During our day together on the campaign trail, Moseley told me she was frustrated that Sen. Hillary Clinton unleashed criticism about Obama saying President Reagan transformed the country's politics.

"That just infuriated me. It's a historical fact that President Reagan won in 1980 with a huge number of Democrats," she said.

I've already gotten a bunch of e-mails about the story — coming from both perspectives.

Some folks have said they are Republicans and plan to vote for Obama, while others wrote in saying no Republican would ever vote for a Democrat as liberal as Obama.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CHAPIN, S.C. — Sen. Barack Obama claimed a delegate win as well as a primary win in his victory speech tonight.

Here's the opener, as prepared:

Over two weeks ago, we saw the people of Iowa proclaim that our time for change has come. But there were those who doubted this country's desire for something new - who said Iowa was a fluke not to be repeated again.

Well, tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina.

He also assumed the John Edwards' status quo line in a reference to the Clintons.

And right now, that status quo is fighting back with everything it's got; with the same old tactics that divide and distract us from solving the problems people face, whether those problems are health care they can't afford or a mortgage they cannot pay.

So this will not be easy. Make no mistake about what we're up against.

And some more:

And what we've seen in these last weeks is that we're also up against forces that are not the fault of any one campaign, but feed the habits that prevent us from being who we want to be as a nation. It's the politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon. A politics that tells us that we have to think, act, and even vote within the confines of the categories that supposedly define us. The assumption that young people are apathetic. The assumption that Republicans won't cross over. The assumption that the wealthy care nothing for the poor, and that the poor don't vote. The assumption that African-Americans can't support the white candidate; whites can't support the African-American candidate; blacks and Latinos can't come together.

But we are here tonight to say that this is not the America we believe in. I did not travel around this state over the last year and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina. I saw South Carolina. I saw crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children. I saw shuttered mills and homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from all walks of life, and men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. I saw what America is, and I believe in what this country can be.

That is the country I see. That is the country you see. But now it is up to us to help the entire nation embrace this vision. Because in the end, we are not just up against the ingrained and destructive habits of Washington, we are also struggling against our own doubts, our own fears, and our own cynicism. The change we seek has always required great struggle and sacrifice. And so this is a battle in our own hearts and minds about what kind of country we want and how hard we're willing to work for it.

I'm watching the speech with some Democratic voters, and that line above was the one that got to them.

Obama also mentioned Tricia Moseley, a Republican who once worked for Strom Thurmond, who I spent most of this morning with.

When I hear that we'll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who's now devoted to educating inner-city children and who went out onto the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don't tell me we can't change.

That story will be up online after midnight, I'll post it here later.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Starbucks here — my unofficial work space — has turned into a political kaleidoscope. I've spotted staffers for each campaign, top political volunteers and voters ready to be done with the media blitz that's been unleashed in their state.

Just about every journo in town has popped in or out today, with many talking about how eager they are to get a few days at home. (Not most of the Clinton-embedded reporters, however — they are off to Nashville tonight.)

Team Clinton sent out this expectations-lowering memo, explaining the battle for delegates that will start in full force once results roll in tonight.

To: Interested Parties
From: Howard Wolfson, Communications Director
Re: South Carolina, Florida, and February 5
Date: January 26, 2008

The Obama campaign has been so confident of winning South Carolina that six months ago they flatly predicted victory in the Palmetto State.

Cornell Belcher, Senator Obama's pollster, stated explicitly to the Politico on July 25, 2007, "We are going to outright win South Carolina."

And today, Senator Obama leads by 12, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls taken in South Carolina over the last 10 days.

Despite Senator Obama's large lead, Senator Clinton has campaigned across the Palmetto State, reaching out and asking for each and every vote. She has heard directly from South Carolinians about their concerns and their hopes for a stronger, more prosperous America.

Regardless of today's outcome, the race quickly shifts to Florida, where hundreds of thousands of Democrats will turn out to vote on Tuesday.

Despite efforts by the Obama campaign to ignore Floridians, their voices will be heard loud and clear across the country, as the last state to vote before Super Tuesday on February 5th.

This remains a delegate fight, with 1,681 delegates at stake on February 5th, and 2,025 needed to secure the nomination — and we are ahead in that fight.

As Senator Clinton has said from the beginning, we have built a national campaign with the resources to compete and win across the country.

Coming off of victories in Nevada, Michigan and New Hampshire, Senator Clinton has demonstrated the importance of focusing on achieving real solutions on the economy, health care and Iraq.

As she campaigns throughout the United States over the coming weeks, Senator Clinton will continue to work hard for every vote, making sure that Americans know she will be a President who focuses on what matters most — making a difference in people's lives.

Bill Burton from the Obama camp responds:

"It should not be surprising given recent events that the Clinton campaign would in one breath say the election is about winning delegates and then tout their success in states that don't award any delegates in the next breath. The DNC has made clear that the winner of the contest in Florida will not receive any delegates, so the next step in this nominating process is February 5th. If the Clinton campaign's southern strength rests on the outcome in a state where they're the only ones competing, that should give Democrats deep pause," he said. "Again, no one is more disappointed that Florida and Michigan Democrats will have no role in selecting delegates for the nomination of the party's standard bearer than Senator Obama but he looks forward to vigorously competing for their votes in the general election."

Here's how Drudge is framing the South Carolina race at 5:30:

Photographer Astrid Riecken and I spent the day in rural Edgeville with some Obama volunteers as they knocked on doors and reminded people to vote. Though they worked with a list of Obama supporters or those who are leaning toward Obama, they didn't have much luck with their first few attempts. One very unhappy-looking woman ran us off her porch and did not abide by the "no cussing" rule the campaign staffers had laid out for the volunteers.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

HIGHWAY 25, 38 MILES WEST OF COLUMBIA, S.C. — Homemade campaign rally signs are rarely unusual ("This is Clinton country" or "Hillary=Ready"), so I was a woman with a mission when I spotted Mary Bissett's colorful creations last night in North Charleston.

I pushed my way through the crowd and found her. By then, she'd switched from that sign above to, "Want Change?? Try Madame President."

"She has brains and heart and she's just brilliant," said Bissett, an architect.

Also last night, Clinton was relaxed and having fun with a crowd of supporters. Here's a clip of her telling a story about why she loves Charleston. While recounting the tale, she called former President Clinton "honey," a little tidbit I mentioned in my story that's in today's paper.

Also last night, I got a kick out of a teenager who came up to the press riser in the back of the room. "Which one is C-SPAN?" he asked me, pointing to the bank of cameras.

I told him I was impressed he watches C-SPAN, and he said he likes watching House and Senate sessions, along with the House of Commons. I asked him his age and he said "The square root of 225."

That means he's 15. And yes, I had to use a calculator. That's why I'm a journalist and not an engineer.

When I got back to Columbia late last night, I was surprised to see Sen. Barack Obama on television. He was chatting with Conan O'Brien, looking unusually rested. I realized why as soon as I turned up the volume - it was a rerun of an episode that originally aired in January 2007 before he announced his presidential bid.

O'Brien teased him about running for POTUS, and Obama promised the comedian could be his running mate.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

COLUMBIA — "Stop Clinton/Obama now" reads the subject line on a Republican National Committee fundraising e-mail today.

As the two frontrunners battle it out for delegates, and the GOP candidates say Sen. Hillary Clinton is the woman to beat, the RNC seems to be focusing on either Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama. And the e-mail includes no love (or hate, depending on how you look at it) for former Sen. John Edwards.:

Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are raking in the campaign cash hand-over-fist.

They begin 2008 having raised more than $200 million combined. In the first eight days of this year, Barack Obama's campaign bragged they had raised over $8 million -- and Hillary Clinton's campaign is right there with him.

Last year, Democrat presidential contenders and Democrat party committees combined raised more than Republicans. Liberal special interests are raising hundreds of millions of dollars from Big Labor, Hollywood elites and radical protest groups like MoveOn.org to defeat Republicans in November.

We must close the gap with the Democrats if we are to have the resources available to elect a new Republican President and Congress. Please help the RNC raise the funds we need to counter the Democrats by making a secure online contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50, or $25 today.

The Democrats and their liberal special interest allies will spend and say whatever it takes to win total control of the government. They are determined to push our country to the Left.

Whoever the Democrat nominee ultimately is, we already know their vision for the future. Both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to:

* Implement massive tax increases that punish hard-working American families in order to pay for new government bureaucracies.
* Give government instead of patients and doctors more power and control over health care; and,
* Retreat from the War on Terror and cut off funding for our men and women in uniform.

We cannot allow a return of the high taxes, big government, weakened national security style of governing that Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama embody.

The RNC must raise the funds now to support our eventual nominee if we are to compete with the Clinton/Obama/liberal special interest money machine. That's why today I'm turning to our Party's top supporters once again.

Electing Republicans committed to our principles of lower taxes, a strong national defense and less government begins with you. Please make a secure online contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50, or $25 to support the RNC's efforts today.

Your immediate support is crucial to countering the Democrat money machine and keeping our campaign programs on track. Thank you.

Best Wishes,

Robert M. "Mike" Duncan
Chairman, Republican National Committee

P.S., Democrats and left-wing special interest groups are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to put a liberal like Senator Clinton or Barack Obama in the White House and expand their majorities in Congress. Please make an urgent online campaign contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50, or $25 to the RNC today to keep our Party on the path to nationwide victories. Thank you.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

COLUMBIA — Sen. Hillary Clinton issued a statement this morning about that DNC decision not to recognize Florida or Michigan delegates because those states broke those pesky party rules for when to hold their elections.

She won in Michigan, and holds a steady lead in Florida, where the candidates have agreed they won't campaign.

Statement by Senator Hillary Clinton on the Seating of Delegates at the Democratic National Convention

"I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee.

"I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention.

"I hope my fellow potential nominees will join me in this.

"I will of course be following the no-campaigning pledge that I signed, and expect others will as well."

I'm waiting for an Obama event to start. We'll see if he has anything to say about this given the Florida fights that have been playing out in recent days.

UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.: Obama adviser David Axelrod responded a moment ago, calling the Clinton statement "almost breathtaking."

"It's classic bait-and-switch. She assured the early states she would honor" party rules, "then breaks her word," he said.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sen. Barack Obama did a cameo on "The Late Show with David Letterman" last night, giving a Top 10 list and joking with Dave about how the host mussed up former Sen. John Edwards' hair recently.

Among Obama's list of his "campaign promises":

"Appoint Mitt Romney Secretary of Lookin' Good"

"If you bring a gator to the White House, I'll wrassle it"

"I'll rename the tenth month of the year 'Barack-tober'"

"Pronounce the word nuclear, nuclear"

Here's some video:

Sen. Hillary Clinton has been on Letterman many times, but she dazzled the comedian this summer by reprising some of his jokes about her pantsuits.

Here's that clip:

Here's the video of Letterman and Edwards from earlier this week.

Edwards, who had a huge crowd last night in a sort of homecoming in Seneca, is attracting some voters who are tired of the Obama-Clinton squabbling. (Here's my story in today's paper from the campaign trail.)

Some shots from yesterday:

I'm hitting the road on an admittedly ambitious quest to try and see all three candidates — and their spouses — today in the Palmetto State. Polls open tomorrow at 7 a.m.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

ANDERSON, S.C. — A voter attending Sen. Hillary Clinton's event here stood during the Q-&-A session to scold the reporters working in the cramped press area in the back of the room.

"I have a message for the press," lawyer Kathy E. Adams of Powdersville said after asking a question about Afghanistan.

"South Carolina is not what you are portraying it to be. I want it heard all over this country," she said. "We don't care about people's color or their gender, we care about finding a leader."

The crowd applauded loudly.

"This election is not about [the candidates], it's about us, so please stop," she said. "Let them talk about what we care about: the war, education, senior care, all of the issues the senator [and the other candidates] has brought up. This is about us, please make it about us."

"Amen, amen," Clinton responded, nodding and adding: "Absolutely."

The crowd gave her a standing ovation as Clinton moved on to answer her question.

The press, predictably, swarmed Adams when the event ended to get her name. (Yours truly was caught in the shot of at least 3 cameras.)

Adams, a business consultant, said when traveling and watching reports about her state, "I was horrified by what I saw." She deplored reports that focused on black voters, saying "It's a new South. What do they think, we're in hoop skirts?"

As for her choice in Saturday's primary, Adams said she will "probably" supporting Clinton. She had been a Joe Biden supporter before leaning toward Clinton.

She said was "disappointed" by the exchange between Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama during the debate Monday. She said she is considering former Sen. John Edwards because she agreed he was "the only adult in the sandbox."

After letting several reporters interview her for a few minutes, Adams realized the cameras were rolling and asked she not be put on TV. It was a little late for that.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

ANDERSON, S.C. — Just as Sen. Hillary Clinton started her speech here at the Civic Center, an e-mail popped into my inbox from Michelle Obama.

Sen. Barack Obama's wife tells supporters in a fundraising pitch that the campaign is relying on a movement to battle two Clintons.

Here's the e-mail, which came along with this new graphic:

In the past week or two, another candidate's spouse has been getting an awful lot of attention.

We knew getting into this race that Barack would be competing with Senator Clinton and President Clinton at the same time.

We expected that Bill Clinton would tout his record from the nineties and talk about Hillary's role in his past success. That's a fair approach and a challenge we are prepared to face.

What we didn't expect, at least not from our fellow Democrats, are the win-at-all-costs tactics we've seen recently. We didn't expect misleading accusations that willfully distort Barack's record.

Barack Obama isn't relying on a former President of the United States to campaign for him.

He's relying on us — you, me, and hundreds of thousands of people like us who are giving whatever they can afford to support this movement.

Please stand up in the face of these new attacks. Make your first online donation of $50 today and own a piece of this campaign:

Barack's unwavering opposition to the war in Iraq, his outspoken support of women's rights, and his call for leadership that will transform our party and our country have all been mischaracterized in the past two weeks.

We've seen disingenuous attacks and smear tactics turn people off from the political process for too long, and enough is enough.

It's time for a change. It's time for a new kind of leadership and a new kind of politics in our party and in our country.

And while Senator Clinton has a former president in her corner, I'll put my faith in a movement of a whole lot of people who are ready for change.

South Carolina votes in 48 hours, and more than 20 states will make their voices heard in less than two weeks on February 5th. Now is the time for all of us to step up and take personal responsibility for making change happen.

Please make your first online donation of $50 now:

Thank you,

Michelle

As for Hillary Clinton, who was nearly an hour late to her event, she's got an excited crowd spilling out the doors. Framed by two flags, Clinton got wild cheers when talking about her health care efforts. Now she's taking questions. The first one (it's a predominantly white audience) was on immigration.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The former First Daughter, who has been stepping up her campaign trail presence in recent weeks, sent an e-mail this morning soliciting donations to her mom's campaign.

The note from Chelsea Clinton is part two of the fundraiser to be Clinton's guest at next week's debate in LA.

Dear Friend,

Contribute today and you could join us at the January 31 debate in Los Angeles!
I love talking to people who are thinking about supporting my mom -- about why I believe in her and why I support her as a young American, a woman, and her daughter!

I also love talking to people who already support my mom's campaign. Every day, when people tell me they're voting for my mom, putting their faith in her, using their voice to encourage others to support her and working hard for her, I grow more proud.

I've been campaigning with her across the country -- and I'm definitely planning on being at the next debate. Would you like to join me? The campaign is picking an online supporter to watch the January 31 debate in Los Angeles with me and to meet my mom. I know she'll be thrilled to meet you -- she is so grateful for how much every supporter has done for her campaign.

With the biggest day of this campaign in just 12 days, there has never been a more important time to contribute. I hope you'll help my mom's campaign prepare for February 5!

Enter before midnight on Saturday, and you might join me at the next presidential debate!

I get a lot of questions from friends and people I meet about what they can do to help my mom win. Of course, I tell them that they should vote, tell their family and friends about my mom and why they support her, and volunteer if they can. But I also send them to the website and ask them to make a contribution if they can.

Today, I'm asking you the same thing. I've knocked on doors, made calls, visited our field offices, and joined my mom at rallies. I can tell you firsthand that my mom is doing a great job, and that we have a big job ahead of us; she needs help from every last one of us right now.

Please contribute now, when she needs your support the most, and help her change America and our futures for the better.

Enter before midnight on Saturday, and hopefully you will join me to watch the next presidential debate!

Thank you so much for all you're doing for my mom's campaign. I'm so proud she has so many wonderful people like you with her!

Thank you again,
Chelsea

Here's some video of the younger Clinton campaigning in Nevada with "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera.

Also, Brian DeBose and I have a story in today's paper from the campaign trail here yesterday.

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

SUMTER, S.C.-- That was the refrain here in the gym as the overflow crowd waited for Sen. Barack Obama to arrive.

The middle of the room is set with a boxing ring, and Obama's signature sign: "Change we can believe in." But unlike the warm-up crowds got in Nevada, Iowa and New Hampshire, this group was treated to song.

After Obama volunteers led the crowd in a chant of "Hope. Change. Obama. Now," a gospel trio did some a cappella. Their theme: change.

An Obama organizer also quizzed voters if they knew their polling location for Saturday's primary, and grinned when about half the the crowd said they had already cast ballots through the Palmetto State's early voting program.

"We can win the election before the polls open," the organizer said.

The new hotline the campaign launched to report issues of voter fraud is plastered on the wall.

Obama is giving his same stump speech, but the crowd is engaging him in a call-and-respond. It allowed him to riff on one of his most popular applause lines that President Bush and his cousin Vice President Cheney won't be on the November ballot.

"No Bush!" the crowd called, which he repeated.

"No Cheney!" he said, and the crowd replied in unison, "No Cheney!"

But when a man shouted "No Hillary!" Obama chuckled.

"We won't go there yet," he said, to laughs. "We'll get to that."

— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times