King rally brings best out of trio

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The Democratic presidential contenders spoke warmly of Martin Luther King Jr. -- and sometimes of each other, too -- on Monday's national holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader.

Apparently, they were saving their vitriol for the debate later in the day.

But for the ceremony on the steps of the state Capitol, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards addressed an annual King Day rally sponsored by the NAACP -- and nary s discouraging word was heard.

Five days before South Carolina's primary, the first this year in which black voters will play a significant role, thousands of people stood shivering in the cold to hear the speeches. Many held signs in support of one or another of the candidates.

Obama won the loudest and most enthusiastic reception, but Clinton and Edwards were also warmly welcomed.

At the rally, Obama acknowledged his "outstanding competitors" but also bemoaned the divisiveness he says has tainted the presidential contest.

Clinton recalled hearing King speak in Chicago when she was a teenager, and implored voters to realize his vision of racial and economic equality by voting in Saturday's primary.

"The dream is nowhere fulfilled," she said. "Now we are called to rise up, speak up and finally get it done."

Clinton and Edwards both also praised Obama's pioneering candidacy.

"To be able to be on the stage in my native state with an extraordinary and talented young man who's running for the presidency of the United States and is African-American makes me so proud of my state," Edwards said.

The morning began with a six-block march to the Capitol. All three candidates had been expected to participate, but Clinton and Edwards missed it. Obama was loudly cheered as he made his way through the crowd.