Hillary Clinton describes her heated Democratic primary race with rival Barack Obama as one of the more "civil and positive" campaigns she has ever been involved in. And she's not kidding.
In the middle of Thursday's trip through North Carolina, Clinton strayed off the economic message that was the focus of speeches in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Winston-Salem to talk about race.
Clinton took 30 minutes in the middle of a hectic day for a conference call with members of the Trotter Group -- a national organization of black columnists.
In a statement before the question and answer session, she started on a high -- "the historic nature" of a contest between a woman and an African American.
She quickly got to the point -- which she clearly considers a low point -- the "ugly perception that my campaign has used race as a tactic."
"I categorically reject that," Clinton said.
When passions run high, there are "painful moments" in a campaign, she said. Some supporters of both candidates have "crossed a line."
A year ago, the message at Clinton rallies and Obama rallies was the same. From Greenville, S.C., to Spartanburg, supporters of both candidates told me how lucky the Democrats were to have great choices.
Two months ago, outside a Myrtle Beach debate where both candidates went for the jugular, the camps stood on opposite sides of the road, holding signs and their ground.
In the S.C. primary, Bill Clinton compared Obama to Jesse Jackson and Hillary Clinton's numbers among black voters went south.
For the long term, Clinton is looking to November, when the Democrats don't want to blow a chance to take the White House after a war, an economic meltdown and two terms of a president with sinking approval ratings.
For the short term, Clinton is looking at a May 6 primary in North Carolina, where 38 percent of Democratic voters are black and where, for now, she trails in the polls. "I have something of an uphill climb in this state," she said.
Clinton -- who last year had a lead among black voters -- wasn't conceding anything on Thursday. She started with black support, she said, because "I earned it." She cited her work with the Children's Defense Fund and her commitment to knocking down societal barriers.
"I understand the decision many African American voters are making." This is an important and historic choice, she said, while mentioning private conversations with Obama backers who have told her she can count on them if she wins the nomination.
After the harsh rhetoric of past weeks, Clinton offered a measure of praise for Obama.
"It's imperative that we elect a Democratic president," Clinton said. Whatever differences may be between Sen. Obama and myself, she said, pale beside the differences with Sen. McCain.
"I will do everything I can," she said, while making it clear she thinks she would be the better candidate.
While we'll have to wait to see how long her message of reconciliation lasts, on this last point, she was dead serious.
IN MY OPINION Mary C. Curtis
