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http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/01/live-blogging-s.html

6:15 pm: A few more interesting notes — the economy is far and away the No. 1 issue about S.C. Democrats — not surprising in a state that’s been battered by lost jobs in the manufacturing/textile sectors. And more than half of today’s voters are saying they’re looking primarily for a candidate who can “bring about needed change.”

6:11 pm: EXIT POLL INFO: Preliminary exit poll results indicate what our smart people are calling a “very large turnout” among African-American voters — definitely more than 50 percent of voters in South Carolina are black, according to the early numbers, compared to 47 percent in 2004, and 43 percent in 1992. There’s also heavy turnout among female voters, who are making up about 6 in 10 S.C. voters.

From ABC polling director Gary Langer: “Two groups that have been heavily courted in the run-up to today’s South Carolina Democratic primary – women and African-Americans – are turning out in large numbers today. Preliminary exit poll results indicate that just over half are blacks this year; if that holds in final data later tonight, it would be the highest turnout among African-Americans in any Democratic presidential primary at least since 1984.”

6:08 pm: I figured someone would ask what the spread is, after I said Obama has to beat it. . . . Sorry to disappoint, but . . . we’ll know it when we see it. If Clinton keeps it close, it’s well within the margin of spinnability, as molded by the expectations game. If it’s a romp, that could swamp even the best spinmeisters in the business — including the pros inside Clinton’s shop.

5:52 pm: One game tonight — how well does Edwards need to do to avoid embarrassment? He can’t afford another 4 percent showing, like he had in Nevada. Does he exceed expectations if he’s in double digits? Maybe — but would that change anything? Remember, he’s unlikely to have conditions this favorable again: He was born in S.C., and won the state in ‘04. Would second place be an achievement? Surely, yes — enough for him to go on to Feb. 5. But even then, where’s the argument for him going forward? As he is himself acknowledging, he needs to start winning some contests.

5:20 pm: Mark (and others who are interested) — the Edwards campaign has indeed responded. This from Edwards campaign manager David Bonior: “Seems as though the prohibitive frontrunner sees John Edwards as a threat her becoming the nominee and that’s why they’re resorting to false, underhanded tactics to attack John Edwards’ message of fighting for whose who are too often not heard in Washington.”

5:10 pm: It may go without saying, but the most important thing to watch tonight in the exit polls will be the split between black and white voters. In the easiest manner of thinking, a high proportion of black voters means a big night for Obama, a low proportion — something less than that.

4:57 pm: So the most buzz out there on primary day isn’t about the spat between Clinton and Obama — it’s about one between Clinton and Edwards. The Clinton campaign waited for election day (or maybe the day before) to bring out this robocall, slamming Edwards on trade and his work for a hedge fund.

An excerpt, courtesy of ABC’s Raelyn Johnson: “Hello, This is the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. Before you vote on Saturday, you should know that John Edwards voted for permanent trade relations with China. That’s right, John Edwards voted for the bill that cost thousands of jobs. Like the ones in the textile mills he talks about so much down here. You should also know that John Edwards made nearly a half a million dollars working for a Wall Street investment fund. A fund that’s been profiting on foreclosing on the homes of families; including 100 homes right here in South Carolina. . . . Can you trust John Edwards? This call is paid for by the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign.”

This speaks to a fascinating (if under-covered) dynamic of the closing days of the campaign. Recent polls have shown Obama slipping among white voters in S.C. — but his support is going to Edwards, not Clinton. A robocall like this suggests that the Clinton campaign sees Edwards as a threat, or at least that his voters are “gettable” for her.

4:45 pm ET: Interesting tidbit, courtesy of ABC’s Sarah Amos, who’s been covering Bill Clinton: “My message has been 99.9 percent positive for 100 percent of the campaign,” the former president said today in South Carolina.

This is a claim that’s possible to fact-check (would you count up the words he’s spoken over the past year?). But it strains credulity for the former president to claim that he’s been almost exclusively — save for .1 percent of the time — a force in favor of his wife. Certainly if you look at volumes of news coverage dedicated to what he’s said on the trail, it’s just not the case — and Bill Clinton KNOWS that he can drive news coverage with attacks on Barack Obama. You can say what you will about whether the attacks are in bounds — John Kerry and a host of other Obama defenders think they aren’t. But now the president is claiming that the attacks didn’t happen?

Rick Klein from ABC’s The Note here, live-blogging the Democratic primary results out of South Carolina. I hope and trust you’re up for another fun Saturday night of politics.

Some thoughts as we wait for exit polls and polling results to come in . . .

As I discussed in this morning’s Note, Barack Obama has really been boxed in by the successful expectations-setting of the Clinton campaign. He needs not only to win, but to cover the spread — and to do it with a sufficient number of white voters so that he doesn’t become the “black candidate” moving forward. Already, Camp Clinton is stirring up some mischief in Florida, accusing Obama of ignoring a key swing state (one that just happens to vote on Tuesday) — even though both Clinton and Obama made a pledge not to campaign in Florida, to preserve the special status of four early-voting states. And John Edwards? He needs something dramatic tonight, otherwise the countdown will start on him making a Very Big Decision about the future of his candidacy.

But it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. As Hillary Clinton has learned (to her benefit) of late, a win is a win. Her campaign has NOT written off South Carolina, even though she’s spent much of the week elsewhere. And a win by Obama today will ensure that this race will go on for a while.