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Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appeared to cool their war of words ahead of the Democratic primary in South Carolina on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Democrat Dennis Kucinich said he would pull out of the race.

Front-runners

Mr Kucinich, 61, told Cleveland's Plain Dealer newspaper he would announce on Friday that he would be "transiting out of the presidential campaign".

It was the 61-year-old Mr Kucinich's second attempt for the presidency. The liberal Democrat is opposed to the Iraq war and has called for the impeachment of Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Recent polls in Florida suggest John McCain and Mitt Romney are neck and neck as frontrunners in the Republican race in the state, well ahead of the former New York, Mr Giuliani in third place, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee behind him.

Florida will be the first large state to vote in the battle for the Republican nomination.

Mr Giuliani has spent two weeks campaigning in the state. For both he and Mr Romney, Florida has emerged as the make-or-break state in their campaigns.

"We are gaining support. I think you'll see that over the next few days," Mr Giuliani was quoted by AP. "We are going to accomplish it against the odds."

The Democratic Party is looking towards South Carolina, the next stage in the hard-fought race between Mr Obama, who won in Iowa, and Mrs Clinton who took New Hampshire and Nevada.

Polls suggest Mr Obama leads in the state, where the two rivals are battling for the African American vote.

The two senators have frequently traded verbal blows on the campaign trail.

"Black voters shouldn't blame Senator Clinton for running a vigorous campaign against me," Mr Obama said after campaigning in the state.

"That should be a source of pride. It means I might win this thing."

'Looking for a fight'

Both camps have had to pull radio adverts critical of their rival running partners.

"We're in a very heated campaign, and people are coming out and saying all kinds of things," Mrs Clinton said.

The former first lady claimed Mr Obama had been "looking for a fight", while he repeated his claim that the Clintons had been attacking him in "not accurate" ways.

All the contenders are looking towards the potentially decisive "Super Tuesday" on 5 February, when 22 states will vote for a candidate from either side to stand in November's presidential election.

(BBC)

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