Many voters claim they would be happy with either candidate, writes Denis Stauntonin Harlem
Along Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem yesterday morning, Obama 08 signs looked out of every other shop window and the candidate's logo, a red white and blue sunrise, was plastered on to lampposts, billboards and brick walls.
But around the corner at the Oberia Dempsey community centre, a Super Tuesday polling station, voters appeared almost evenly divided between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
"I met Hillary Clinton before and she's a good person. They're both good," said Freddy Thomas, who was so torn that he was waiting until later in the day to cast his vote.
"I know once I get to the booth, I'm going to trust my heart. She's a woman and that would be great. He's an African-American. That's why I'm stuck. If they were both men, I'd have no problem." Tressy Lee is not opposed to Clinton but she believes that the opportunity Obama presents to elect a black president is too important to pass up.
"I think it would mean that we're stepping in the right direction, towards equality. It shouldn't matter what the colour of a guy's skin is," she said.
"I did have a struggle, me being female. If it comes down to Hillary Clinton, I'll be with her too. But I feel he'd do what we want." Clinton has a deep network of supporters in Harlem, where former president Bill Clinton has an office for his foundation and Liduvina Travieso didn't hesitate before voting for the former first lady.
"I think she has more experience and it's interesting to have a female president. Obama is new to me. I think he's not ready," she said.
Voting was steady but fairly light at Oberia Dempsey yesterday morning, perhaps because it was raining or maybe most New Yorkers were more focused on the victory parade of their local heroes the Giants, who won an upset victory over the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl.
Both candidates have sought to draw a positive omen from the Giants' victory, Clinton because she supported the team and Obama because the New Yorkers came from behind to defeat a team that everyone regarded as invincible.
Actor Aunjanue Ellis wasn't about to miss her chance to take part in the primary for any victory parade and she walked into the polling booth with a sense of pride.
"Every time I vote, it's history for me," she said. "Every time I vote, a tear comes to my eye because I know that someone who looked like me died so I could vote." Ellis chose Obama, who first caught her attention with his speech to the Democratic national convention in 2004, but she described the choice between Obama and Clinton as "a curse of riches".
She wants to hear more specific policy ideas from Obama but she views him as a man of principle who can inspire Americans by reaching out to millions who have been forgotten.
"I have the idea that he wants to speak to people that George W Bush turned a blind eye to," she said.
Ellis is conscious of the symbolic significance of Obama's candidacy for African-Americans but she is adamant that her vote should not be determined by the fact that he is black.
"I held back for a long time because I don't want my vote to be just a representative one. I don't want it to be just symbolic," she said.