Southern black voters are in knots over a contest that pits a woman they know well against a viable black candidate. If any election can prove that Southern blacks are not a monolithic voting bloc, it is this one.

The competition pits old loyalties against new passions, and traditional kingmakers — many of whom backed Clinton months ago — against Obama’s grass-roots energy.

In Atlanta, the race has also split old allies in the civil rights movement. Rev Joseph E Lowery supported Obama, for instance, while Republican John Lewis defended Clinton against accusations that she and her husband had denigrated Martin Luther King Jr in an attack on Obama.

Another prominent Clinton supporter from the civil rights era, Andrew Young, also went on the defensive. “Hillary Clinton, first of all, has Bill behind her” Young said on a recent webcast devoted to African-American issues. “And Bill is every bit as black as Barack.”

But a younger generation appears to be embracing Obama. Raphael G Warnock, the 38-year-old senior pastor of King’s home church, Ebenezer Baptist, extended Obama the honour of appearing there this Sunday, the day before the King holiday.

THE RACE

In S Carolina, Nevada

Republican Race

John McCain maintained a steady 7-point edge on Mike Huckabee, 29 per cent to 22 per cent, although rival and Mitt Romney gained three points overnight to climb into third place at 15 per cent. Both polls had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

... contd.