Columbia: Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama sprinted to the finish line of the South Carolina primary, with polls tipping him for a vital win before the campaign goes national.

"We are in a very close race here ... I have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow," Clinton said yesterday, as she chased votes ahead of today's nominating contest, which was preceeded by bitter sniping between the two camps.

After defeats in the previous two showdowns in New Hampshire and Nevda to the New York senator, Obama needs a victory, knowing a shock defeat could dampen his hopes before February 5,when nearly two-dozen states vote.

Clinton, trying to stem sliding support among African Americans, who form half the Democratic electorate here, appeared with several prominent community leaders, who pleaded with voters not to pick Obama, just because he is black.

"I may take a very, very bold step to walk into that voting booth focusing on our community's interests, rather than simply acting on emotion," said Stacey Jones, dean of largely black Benedict College here.

Illinois Senator Obama also hit five venues in South Carolina, ahead of its first-in-the-south primary, drawing 3,000 people, many students, to hear his spellbinding rhetoric at Clemson University, in Greenville.

"I love you," someone shouted from the crowd. "I love you back!" he joked. "Change in America had always started with young people," Obama told the crowd. "This is your moment, this is your time."

Source : PTI