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Bill Clinton opened his presidential office in the Harlem district of New York after taxpayers balked at the $800,000-a-year rent of his first choice in a Manhattan penthouse suite.

Faced by a storm of controversy, the Southern white man dubbed “America's first black president” took refuge as he had done during previous crises among his staunch supporters in the African-American community.

The Clintons have powerful friends in the iconic black neighbourhood. It was the veteran local congressman Charles Rangel who first suggested that Hillary Clinton seek a seat as senator for New York.

Now that she is running for president Mrs Clinton should have been able to count on the loyalty of the African-American community in her own constituency.

The fact that she faces Barack Obama, coupled with accusations that Mr Clinton has injected race into the campaign, has split residents of the upper Manhattan district. Its Amsterdam News newspaper, which represents the black Establishment, has endorsed Mrs Clinton but Mr Obama is the first politician to appear on the cover of the hip-hop magazine Vibe, which dubbed him “B-Rock”.

Though many local black politicians have stayed with Mrs Clinton for fear of offending party bosses, celebrities such as the film director Spike Lee and hip-hop stars Jay-Z and Beyoncé have backed Mr Obama.

Opinion outside Mr Clinton's office on 125th Street, the main thoroughfare of Harlem, is divided — and that could have an impact not just on today's Democratic primary in New York and beyond but also on the election in November as well.

Okite Omenish, a student, spoke for many African-Americans when she said that she would vote for Senator Obama because he had a chance to become the first black president. “To go from sitting at the back of the bus to the Oval Office in 50 years is a big deal,” she said.

Lillian Greence, a housewife, also black, planned to stick with the Clintons. “I wish people here would go beyond the colour of people's skin, as opposed to what they can actually do,” she said. “If we go beyond those things we are going to elect Hillary.”

Mrs Clinton holds a solid lead in most polls in New York State, as she does in neighbouring New Jersey and Connecticut. An NBC/Marist poll published on Saturday showed Mrs Clinton leading 54 per cent to 38 per cent among all likely voters. That, though, is down from her 55 per cent to 17 per cent in in December. The contest has divided families, including that of Mr Rangel. The 19-term congressman travelled to South Carolina to campaign for Mrs Clinton but his wife, Alma, was spotted at a fundraising luncheon on the Upper East Side with Mr Obama's wife, Michelle.

Exposed by the press, Mrs Rangel endorsed Mr Obama formally. “I believe Barack Obama has the ability to unify this country and the character to stand up for what's right instead of what's popular,” she said.

Because the Rangels are normally a tight-knit political couple, the endorsement led to a Machiavellian theory. Long-time Democrat activists suggest that Mrs Rangel broke ranks only because of the groundswell of support for Mr Obama among New York's black community. They suggested that her endorsement was an effort to protect her husband from a backlash by African-Americans for his endorsement of Mrs Clinton.

Many African-Americans were angered by Mr Clinton's use of the term “fairy tale” in criticising Mr Obama. The Rev Al Sharpton, the rabble-rousing black activist parodied in Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities, declared: “As one of the most outspoken people in America, I think there's a time to shut up.” Chastened, Mr Clinton telephoned Mr Sharpton's radio show to explain himself.

The NBC/Marist poll showed that 61 per cent of Mrs Clinton's supporters in New York thought that her husband had helped her in the campaign and 57 per cent of Mr Obama's supporters thought Mr Clinton had hurt her.

“What people are seeing now that Hillary is running for president is a different Bill Clinton,” said Iesha Sekou, host of the Harlem Live! radio show. “Now people are saying, 'Is this the real Bill Clinton?'.”

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