Sweet: Obama wins South Carolina. His way. Big endorsement coming Sunday? UPDATE. It's Caroline Kennedy for Obama.

COLUMBIA, S.C.–Barack Obama clinched the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday after a race with a nasty tone where former President Bill Clinton’s aggresive push for his wife became an issue.

UPDATE Obama, seeking to inherit the Kennedy mantle, wins the endorsement of Caroline Kennedy. LINK

Excerpt from her New York Times op ed about Obama where she passes a torch to him

“I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”

In a state where race played a role, and with a hefty black electorate, exit polls showed that Obama snared a whooping 81 per cent of the African-American vote and the white splitting between the three rivals.

Obama delivers a victory speech at 9 p.m. eastern, and I hear that Obama will talk about how his victories in Iowa and South Carolina–states with vastly different popullations–show that his “movement” politics are taking hold.

And that big endorsement I hear is coming….the two biggest out there are Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) and former Vice President Al Gore. UPDATE It turns out to be Carolne Kennedy.