During an often heated and contemptuous debate in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton stood her ground against Democrat rival Barack Obama about the need for mandated health care and a universal health system to insure coverage for every American citizen. Occasionally bolstered by John Edward, Clinton vowed to never back down on the need for universal health care, saying she would "go to the mat" to make coverage available to all citizens.
Despite winning the popular vote in Nevada and coming in first in the New Hampshire primary, Clinton continues to lag Obama in South Carolina where polls posted at usaelectionpolls.com show her in second place with 39 percent to Obama's 45 percent. This is a near reversal in their standing in national polls that show Clinton leading with 42 percent in a recent CNN poll and Obama in second with 33 percent. Edwards is shown in third place with 15 percent in South Carolina and 17 percent nationally.
Her husband former President Bill Clinton has been a more outspoken critic of Obama in recent days and Obama is sniping at Hillary Clinton over some of the opinions he has been expressing. With her husband critical of Obama and John Edwards seemingly coming to her defense, or rather on the offense towards Obama, Clinton, according to come political pundits, is getting a lot of help in her fight against her closest rival.
Supporters in both camps have been especially vocal of late, as each digs for information that help their campaign. Although Clinton and Obama tried initially to keep the venue clean and focused on the issues, Clinton has not been shy about her criticism of other candidates on important policy issues.
Latest Polls: Hillary Clinton is Way Out in Front in Florida and New York
