Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have placed blame on aides and supporters of fueling the dispute over race and civil rights on the televised debate on MSNBC. This debate comes days ahead of the Nevada caucuses this Saturday.
The row between Clinton and Obama focused on who had done more for the civil rights movement during the 1960s. In the case of John Edwards, he used the debate as an opportunity to question the financial backers of his fellow Democratic rivals.
Nevada is the next stage in the race before “Super Tuesday” to decide who will stand for the Democrats and Republicans in the presidential elections in November. So far, the Democratic contest will not be affected by the outcome in Michigan as Democrats in that state were barred from sending delegates to the final party convention.
So far, Mitt Romney had won Michigan’s Republican primary.
According to analysts, the issue of race might not be that important until the Democratic primary in South Carolina on January 26. In South Carolina, the black vote could prove to be vital and decisive.
The dispute that ignited between Clinton and Obama when Clinton appeared last week suggesting that US President Lyndon B. Johnson had done more for the cause than civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Some in Obama’s camp called it an insult.
“Our supporters, our staff, get over-zealous – they start saying things that I would not say,” Barack Obama said at Tuesday’s debate.
He and Clinton agreed that they sometimes have uncontrollable supporters. But they say that all Democratic Party members were considered as family.
While Clinton and Obama talked about setting race and civil rights aside, John Edwards questioned their acceptance of funding from the drug and insurance companies.
“Do you think these people expect something or are they just interested in good government?” Edwards asked.
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