[Note from Rich Miller: This is my new intern Kevin Fanning’s first blog post here, so try to be gentle. Thanks.]

If you hedged your bets that last night’s CNN democratic debate in South Carolina would be the equivalent of last debate’s love fest, today’s political headlines must be leaving you extremely disappointed. Headlines today include “Debate gets fiercely personal” in the Trib, “Debate turns heated as Obama, Clinton allege distortion” in the Daily Herald, and my personal favorite “Sparks fly in most contentious debate to date” on CNN.com.

On a night that was supposed to be reserved by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute to debate how best to realize Dr. King’s vision for a better society, we witnessed an example of how best to tear it apart. The claws came out, and only John Edwards was able to crawl out of the ring without a battered face.

Minutes into the debate accusations flew back and forth between Clinton and Obama. Hillary looked too aggressive, Barack was too defensive, and Goldilocks was left in the middle asking how “is this going to get us universal health care?” After a bitter exchange about the Clintons’ portrayal of Obama’s “fondness” for Ronald Reagan the junior Senator from Illinois snipped back:

“…what I said was is that Ronald Reagan was a transformative political figure because he was able to get Democrats to vote against their economic interests to form a majority to push through their agenda, an agenda that I objected to. Because while I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart.”

This obviously hit a nerve with Hillary who moments later asserted:

“I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.”

And on it went , ranging from how Obama’s health care plan isn’t universal to how Hillary voted for a banking bill that favored big business to how Obama voted present too many times in the statehouse to how Hillary and Bill have been tag teaming Obama, and finally concluded with Obama having to answer if Bill Clinton really was the first black President. Which to his credit I thought he gave a hilarious response, and in Governor Blagojevich’s words regarding the transit bill “took a lemon and turned it into lemonade.”

After last night’s royal rumble one thing is certain, the general election will be no cake walk for either candidate. If Hillary comes out alive after February 5th she will have to mend fences with an angry African American community who came out in numbers to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan.

If Obama wins the nomination he will have to answer to the attacks made by the Clinton campaign. Is his universal health care plan really universal? Why did he vote “present” 130 times in the state Senate? And most of all, the Achilles Heel, what was your relationship with Antonin “Tony” Rezko? All of these questions threaten the central theme of Obama’s candidacy, honesty and openness in government.

I guess we’ll just have to hold our breath to see which candidate limps their way to Denver.