Analysis: SC strategy focused on race

[Onlooker]

Interesting article on SC primary.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/5488371.html

WASHINGTON — South Carolina is where two presidential candidates lectured the media for focusing on race, but behind the scenes worked furiously to use the state's diversity to their advantage.

Race is an uncomfortable thing to discuss, especially in a national political campaign where you are trying to win the support of a majority white electorate. Nevertheless, both Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton had a strategy in South Carolina focused on race.

The Obama campaign has long argued that South Carolina would be his best state among the early voting states, figuring that interest in putting the first black president in office would attract many of the black voters who make up half of the state's Democratic primary electorate.

Obama sent a large staff to the state early, when polls showed him trailing far behind Hillary Rodham Clinton, and their focus was on building support in churches, beauty salons, barber shops and neighborhoods where black voters spend their time. The Clinton campaign sought out the support of black women in particular, knowing they are reliable voters.

[aquart]

1. Hilary sought them out because they are "reliable voters."

Was she supposed to ignore them? Assume they belonged to Obama?