Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Hillary Clinton defended her husband's role in her presidential campaign and said it will continue.

``He is going to continue to be with me and support me and speak out for me,'' Clinton said the day after Senator Barack Obama beat her in South Carolina's Democratic primary by a margin of more than 2-to-1. ``I'm really glad that he's there with me, and I think everybody just needs to take a deep breath,'' she said.

Both Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, drew criticism in the past few weeks from black leaders who said they injected the issue of race into the campaign. Obama accused Bill Clinton, who has enjoyed strong support among black voters, of making statements that ``aren't supported by the facts.''

Hillary Clinton, appearing on CBS's ``Face The Nation,'' deflected the suggestion that her husband was an ``attack dog'' in her campaign.

``My husband has such a great commitment to me and my campaign,'' she said. ``The spouses of all three'' leading Democratic candidates have been ``passionate and vigorous'' defenders,'' and each ``maybe got a little carried away.''

Obama, without mentioning the Clintons by name, used his victory speech last night to criticize opponents who will ``say anything and do anything to win an election.'' Today, he offered more conciliatory comments on ABC's ``This Week'' program.

``I actually think that Bill Clinton did an important service for the Democratic Party,'' Obama said. ``But there is no doubt that I think that in the '90s, we got caught up in a slash-and-burn politics that the American people are weary of.'' He added that it was ``not the Clintons' fault.''

Jesse Jackson Parallel

The Illinois senator, 46, declined to criticize former president Clinton for comparing Obama's showing in South Carolina with Jesse Jackson, another black politician, who won there in 1984 and 1988.

Obama, as he looks toward competing in more than 20 states on Feb. 5, accepted Clinton's comparison as an historic fact and added: Jackson's victories were ``20 years ago.''

``I'm not going to continue sort of the tit-for-tat,'' he said. ``I think that the results yesterday spoke for themselves, that people wanted to move beyond some of these old arguments, and they want to look forward to figure out how we pull the country together and move forward.''

Obama won 55 percent of the vote to Clinton's 27 percent, with overwhelming support from black voters, who made up half of the record number who cast ballots. Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards placed third with 18 percent.

Super Tuesday

The Democrats now turn their attention to the 22 states that will hold primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5. The Republicans will first battle it out in Florida, where they will vote on Tuesday. Democrats also have a primary there that day, although their contest will not award delegates and the candidates have pledged not to campaign there.

Former president Clinton's criticism of Obama has spilled into the Republican race, with Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, saying he's not surprised by the cut-and-thrust tactics in the Democrats' race.

``There are not two people who are better at street fighting politics than Bill and Hillary Clinton,'' Huckabee said on ``Fox News Sunday.''

``Don't underestimate the scrappiness with which they'll approach this race,'' he said. ``Tactics will change, but the goal will never, ever fade, and that is win, whatever it takes to do it.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Hans Nichols in Washington at hnichols2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 27, 2008 15:35 EST