I never bought into the "let's play nice" talk that came from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in their debate last week in Las Vegas after several days of sparring related to race.

And things really erupted last night in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as the debate exchanges got bitter and personal, with Obama accusing former President Clinton of basically lying about Obama's record.

"I'm here. He's not," Hillary Clinton tersely responded at one point.

"I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes," said Obama.

Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that the stories in the press were that Bill Clinton was becoming an irrelevant second fiddle to his Wife, The Candidate?

But then a series of jabs by both sides revolving around Bill Clinton's "fairy tale" comment about Obama's Iraq stance jazzed things up.

And now, Barack The First Term Senator is taking on Bubba The Former President, who could probably still win the Democratic nomination if he was on the ballot.

"You know the former president, who I think all of us have a lot of regard for, has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling," Obama said on ABC Monday.

There are two ways to look at what's going on here, first from the Obama side.

Obama argues the dual broadsides by Hillary and Bill Clinton are part of Washington Attack Dog Politics, where you say just about anything and mislead voters about your opponent's record.

One of Obama's core arguments is that he is something different, above the partisan fray and not beholden to the ole "politics as usual."

In the other corner are the Clintons, backed by serious veterans of the campaign trail, experienced in Big Time Politics.

Since losing Iowa, they have jabbed relentlessly at Obama, arguing that he offers nice lofty rhetoric, little substance and ignores holes in his own record.

In terms of strategy, the Clinton Camp seems to have succeeded on one front - they have gotten Obama off message.

Obama isn't getting quoted about what he wants to do on the economy or anything else. Instead, he's dealing in personality disputes, which is sooooooo much more deliciously interesting for the media to cover instead of policy details.

"2-HEADED MONSTER" blared the headline in the New York Post.

"Barack: I'm fighting against both Clintons" read the sub-head, which also featured an illustration of a prehistoric dinosaur with a pointed devil's tail topped by cropped photo heads of Bill and Hillary.

I guess I have to say, well, no kidding. Of course you are fighting against both Clintons. Bill didn't get to the White House and survive an intern scandal and Impeachment to sit on the sidelines in 2008.

Later South Carolina: Hillary Goes Nationwide

After three straight victories in New Hampshire, Michigan and Nevada, the Hillary Clinton Brain Trust has evidently decided not to make South Carolina into a showdown. Why? Just check out her schedule for the rest of this week.

She was at the CNN debate last night in Myrtle Beach, but doesn't return to South Carolina until Thursday.

In between, she is here in Washington, D.C. tonight, then off to California, New Mexico, Arizona, New Jersey and New York.

Why? Well, some of those destinations are part of Super Tuesday on February 5th, but they also have fundraising events for Clinton.

The Clinton people may in essence be ceding South Carolina to Obama, who has been running ahead in the polls there, in order to raise a lot more money and be better positioned for February the 5th when things go "nationwide."

Remember, there are around 2,000 delegates on February 5th to just 45 in the Palmetto State. If Clinton had lost Nevada last weekend, she might be doing a lot more work in South Carolina instead.

Now if Hillary isn't in South Carolina, who is going to campaign for her the next few days? Hmmm, there must be one big name surrogate that they can find to stir the pot.

"Paging Bill Clinton, paging Bill Clinton..."

The Republicans Swarm Florida

Not many political "experts" in Washington, D.C. are sure of what's going to happen in Florida on the GOP side over the next week.

One new poll indicated that Mitt Romney had moved out to a short lead over John McCain, with Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee sliding back in the Sunshine State.

Meantime, one out of state poll was a shocker - from Giuliani's home base of New York - which showed that John McCain was the leader there over Giuliani.

Polls like that pretty much confirm that for Giuliani to have a serious chance of doing well on Super Tuesday, he must win in Florida.

McCain will visit New York on Tuesday to do a little politicking and to raise a little money along the way.

News coverage in Manhattan will mean coverage in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. All three states vote on February 5th.

As for Fred Thompson, no one will be surprised to see him get out of this race. The talk for weeks has been he would withdraw and endorse McCain.

Giuliani Stops in at Daytona

With his campaign bus going for a lap around the Daytona Speedway, Rudy Giuliani's visit to the track certainly gave him a nice photo opportunity. Check and see if it makes your local paper or the internet news page.

Forgive the car racing metaphors, Giuliani's pit crew better hope that his candidacy has a fresh set of tires for the next week in Florida, because his drift back in the polls has all the smell of a race car that might be leaking oil.

Giuliani has certainly worked Florida harder than any of the other candidates in terms of personal visits.

John McCain saw that work in New Hampshire for him this year and back in 2000, while his opponents were busy working in other states.

Giuliani's visit though is a reminder of how much things have changed in terms of the timing of the Presidential Race.

Back in 1972, it was Alabama Governor George Wallace who showed up on race day of the Daytona 500, shaking hands with the drivers, addressing the fans and getting his photograph in newspapers throughout the South.

This year's race isn't until February 17th and the White House hopefuls will be long gone from the Sunshine State.