Universal health care is a core Democratic value. 17 seconds of the debate well worth watching.

It's pretty much a given that Barack Obama will win South Carolina as polls show that the African American population there overwhelmingly supports him and makes up 50% of Democratic voters.

While Hillary isn't going to concede South Carolina, she's not going to fight the obvious: She'll be leaving the state following the debate to spend tomorrow and Wednesday in Feb. 5 states -- specifically, California, New Mexico and New Jersey. She'll return to South Carolina Thursday.

Because the state is a must-win for Obama, he'll be there all week.

South Carolina has become a must-win state for Obama since Clinton prevailed in New Hampshire and Nevada. He was expected to campaign here all week.

That gives Hillary several more days than Obama in the critical Feb. 5 states. Compare the numbers: South Carolina has 2.5 million registered voters, 54 total delegates (45 committed) and 8 electoral college votes. On Tsunami Tuesday,

Some 1,678 delegates are at stake that day, compared to 45 in South Carolina.

to Iraq.

Hillary: I'm looking to bring our troops home. Here's why.

Edwards: We'd all end the war. The question is how aggressively. He's said all combat troops will leave and no permanent military installations.

Obama says he wants to be careful about how we get out. How do we create stable Iraqi government without permanent military installations? (Will he have an answer? No. He veers off to what we could buy at home with the money. )

Finally, a commercial break after 1 hour and ten minutes. Post-commercial updates below:

The debate starts now. I will be live blogging as much as I can. Jeralyn will be live blogging as well.

Please chime in with your thoughts.

Pre-game. Suzanne Malveaux and Joe Johns of CNN will be joining Wolf Blitzer with the questioning. Malveaux and Johns state that the focus of the debate will be the economy. But that all the others will be covered.

Update (TL): The applause was pretty equal at the beginning. They start with the economy. The first question goes to Hillary. It’s a specific answer with details of her new economic plan. She contrasts it to Bush’s plan, not the plan of the other candidates.

Obama:answers, beginning with a reference to Martin Luther King, Jr. He too goes after Bush but mentions Hillary's plan. He's not as confident as Hillary, but recovers when he is asked a question by Wolf Blitzer. Edwards is up next. Updates below.

South Carolina Democratic Debate Transcript: Final Portion (Part !V)

MALVEAUX: Congressman Clyburn earlier said today, "I think he can afford to tone it down." Is there a risk that he is overshadowing
your message and your voice?

CLINTON: Well, I think that he is very much advocating on my behalf, and I appreciate that. He is a tremendous asset. And he feels very strongly about this country and what's at stake and what out future should be.

More...

Just in from CNN: Here's the transcript of the first set of zingers between Hillary and Obama. I'll fix the spacing later.

More....

I'll be live blogging the Democratic South Carolna Debate tonight. It will be broadcast on CNN starting at 8 EST.

What I expect tonight is an uneventful debate praising unity, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the historic nature of the candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. We may get a lot of substance too. I expect no fireworks. But I have been wrong too many times to count in this election.

This is an Open Thread.

Update [2008-1-21 19:36:21 by Big Tent Democrat]: This is rich. Media Darling Obama complains about the Media: [More...]

A new Marist poll taken Jan. 15-17 finds John McCain ahead of Rudy Giuliani in New York and Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama, 48% to 32%. The full poll is here.

• 79% of likely Democrats who back Hillary Clinton say they are strongly committed to her. This compares with 58% of Barack Obama’s supporters who are firmly committed to him.

• A majority of likely Democratic primary voters in New York think Hillary Clinton has the best chance of beating the Republican candidate for president in November. 59% think Clinton is the most electable Democratic presidential candidate compared with 24% who believe Obama is.

24's Kiefer Sutherland left the Glendale City Jail after serving 48 days for his latest DUI conviction.

Sutherland -- the star of Fox television's drama, "24" -- has spent his sentence cleaning sheets, pillowcases and blankets on laundry duty, Balian told The Associated Press on Friday.

"He was very humble, never complained," Balian said. "He didn't give us any problems at all."

Here's a short video of Bill Clinton and Mike Huckabee sharing a pew and singing today at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Here's a live-stream of the service which is still going on. Clinton acknowledged Huckabee in his remarks:

He acknowledged a litany of people, before beginning his remarks on MLK, including his “fellow Arkansan, and a competitor for the presidential nomination. Governor Huckabee welcome.”

” We worked together for several years on something that concerns everybody in this church: trying to turn the tide on childhood obesity, and childhood diabetes,”Clinton said.”A good man.”But he also said that they didn’t agree much on anything.

Tonight the leading Democratic candidates for President, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, will be debating in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The debate presents a great opportunity to squelch the ethnic, racial and gender tensions storyline that the Media is shamefully trying to stoke. These are three good Democrats, fighting for their visions of enacting a progressive agenda. There are no heightened tensions as a result of this race, and that is a credit to all Democrats. I agree with Digby:

In this case you have a couple of candidates who are breaking down barriers and there are quite a few Democrats out there who find that exciting and meaningful. A lot of women, many of them older, look at the two candidates, don't see much difference between them on policies they care about and decide for the woman. Many African Americans are now looking at Obama and make the same calculation. Younger voters see someone of a new generation and think he sees the world as they do. Older people factor in experience, both life and political. There's nothing unusual or wrong about this. [MORE] . . .

I hope we all take a few minutes today to reacquaint ourselves with the extraordinary wisdom, vision and passion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Some of my favorites:

• A one-minute video that features excerpts from Dr. King's 1967 speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence , April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, New York City, amidst images of King, Vietnam, Bush, Iraq and more.

• Letter From Birmingham Jail (pdf), April 16, 1963

• I've Been to the Mountaintop: April 3, 1968. Dr. King's last speech, the day before his assassination, in support of the striking Memphis sanitation workers.