Spotlight will soon move south to S.C.
By Robert Behre
Once the last New Hampshire vote is cast in tonight's presidential primaries, the campaigns will pack up quickly and move back into South Carolina.
Republican hopeful former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is set to ride around the state on a bus in the next few days, while Arizona Sen. John McCain plans to visit The Citadel at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Late Thursday morning, Democratic hopeful Illinois Sen. Barack Obama will address a crowd at the College of Charleston's Cistern.
As the next few weeks unfold here, many
things will be key to a win.
The Post and Courier
Jacqui Barry makes calls at Barack Obama's Charleston campaign headquarters.
One of those factors is momentum: Whoever wins tonight's Granite State primaries will receive a bounce. Another is the candidates' appearances, and television and radio ads urging voters to choose them.
Perhaps the least visible key is what was going on Monday in four offices scattered across Charleston. Volunteers and low-level staffers were making phone calls, assembling campaign signs and doing dozens of other small deeds to give their candidates an edge.
Among them was Tony Ferri, a retired federal employee from St. Simons Island, Ga., who made the trip up here to try to help McCain win this state's GOP primary Jan. 19.
"My wife thinks I'm crazy," he said during a break between phone calls Monday. "I just thought I'd put my money where my mouth is, so to speak."
More than five volunteers packed into the James Island office of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Monday afternoon doing the same thing. Tim Calnon of Isle of Palms was among them, often leaving messages on answering machines that began, "Terrorism is the leading problem in the world today. We need Rudy Giuliani's leadership."
Ashley Russell, a student at Winthrop University, sat nearby and made her own set of calls. She saw Giuliani during a Rock Hill campaign stop last year, "and I completely fell in love with him."
The leading Democratic candidates had even more supporters buzzing around their Lowcountry headquarters. Charleston County School Board member Ruth Jordan watched about 10 volunteers and campaign operatives as they made phone calls and assembled signs for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
"This office has been packed all day," she said. "I think the holidays are over, and Iowa is done. New Hampshire is next, then in South Carolina, we're it."
Jordan, Clinton's regional field director in the Lowcountry, said she's not discouraged by Clinton's showing in Iowa, noting that while Obama got the win and the media attention, he received only one more delegate from that state.
"We're not uneasy. It's all about the delegates in the end," Jordan said. "My heart is with Obama, but my head tells me we need someone who can lead, who has experience and who can get the job done from Day One."
At Obama's headquarters, almost 20 staffers and volunteers entered through a door on which this sign was taped: "Only 19 days until the S.C. Democratic primary."
Robert Fludd, a 47-year-old between jobs, has turned volunteering for Obama into a full-time job — at least until the state's Jan. 26 Democratic primary. It's the first time he's engaged in politics at any level beyond simply voting.
"I eat, sleep and live this campaign. I talk about it all the time," he said, adding that he makes phone calls, goes door to door and talks with local churches. "It's just a movement for me, a movement you can feel and smell."
Matthew Ellison, a 19-year-old Yale University student, worked for Delaware Sen. Joe Biden until last Thursday, when Biden dropped out. This week, he's phoning for Obama. "I think Obama's message of bringing people together in a sort of new politics, as he calls it, has the best chance of working in Washington."
James Hingeley, a public defender in Charlottesville, Va., is wrapping up a week-long vacation volunteering for Obama in Charleston. He noted South Carolina's primary, given its early date, will be more important than Virginia's Feb. 12 contest. "I wanted to make a difference where it counts, and South Carolina is one of those places," he said.
This kind of grass-roots activity also can help decide who wins by targeting a candidate's most-loyal supporters, ensuring they get out on election day and attending rallies and other meetings, said College of Charleston political science professor Bill Moore.
"Media advertising, grass-roots efforts, and the results of Iowa and New Hampshire — they all play into the mix in South Carolina," he said. "It's a combination of all of those things."
Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.
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SCVOTER (anonymous) says...
Ignore the chain emails and research the candidates for your self. I challenge anyone who is undecided to watch Obama's Iowa victory speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqoFwZ...
This is the man to unite America. Put partisan politics aside and lets all do what is best for America!
January 8, 2008 at 8 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
obrbob (anonymous) says...
Robert Fludd, a 47-year-old between jobs, has turned volunteering for Obama into a full-time job - at least until the state's Jan. 26 Democratic primary. It's the first time he's engaged in politics at any level beyond simply voting.
"I eat, sleep and live this campaign. I talk about it all the time," he said, adding that he makes phone calls, goes door to door and talks with local churches. "It's just a movement for me, a movement you can feel and smell."
Well, if it feels like a movement and smells like a movement, it probably is. And it just goes to show you how full of it he really is.
Voting for any of these clowns is voting in the lesser of two evils. We need a strong, more neutral third party as it was intended to be. I'm tired of having to vote left or right depending on what the needs of the country are. I don't want a Democrat and I don't want a Republican in the White House:.I want a responsible leader.
Vote for D:none of the above.
January 8, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
flinsc (anonymous) says...
I like to look at professional and college sports. Fans and people get more excited about who there next coach is going to be or in what direction there team is going than they do who will be next President, or possitive about the direction of the country. When are we going to get someone that we are excited about. That we will wake up in the morning and say, "I am glad with the direction of this country." Instead it is more like "Can't wait for the end of this term, who will be the next clown to stay in." The greatest evil we face is lack of motivation and the non ability to have people in power not based on popularity, but based on hope and potential glory.
January 8, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rich_Hamlin (anonymous) says...
I'm excited about a politician I can trust, whose voting record and personal life reflect rather than bring into question his stated principles. In addition, Ron Paul's principles are that of a true patriot and the only real conservative in the race. If elected, he will strengthen America's military and economy while decreasing spending, taxes, inflation, and unnecessary involvement in foreign wars, as well as protecting the unborn. This election, for the first time, I don't want to vote for "none of the above."
January 8, 2008 at 12:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammanofdi (anonymous) says...
A+ Rich_Hamlin... And a big "Boo" to The P&C for ingoring him. He had 3 times the amount of votes that Guiliani recieved, yet Guiliani still garners the national media attention. It is almost like the media had conspired to force him out of the limelight. I appreciated Jay Leno giving him the chance to discuss his policies on national television though (anyone that missed his interview last night really missed out). He truly is the last hope for our country, and he is the only "politician" to stick to his views and think outside the box.
January 8, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eyfigueroa (anonymous) says...
Just because the so-called mainstream media ignores Ron Paul doesn't not mean that the rest of us has to!
i'm still not sure as to whom i'll throw my vote, but i am sure that Ron Paul is as good as a few and far better than most of the candidates in the running and it's a shame how most political pundits just want to marginalize Ron Paul.
January 8, 2008 at 1:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCVOTER (anonymous) says...
Although I disagree with some of Ron Paul's politics, you can't help but respect his record and his determination. He speaks as if he truly believes what he is saying....sort of like Mr. Obama. These two are the agents of change this country has been looking for.
January 8, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammanofdi (anonymous) says...
Early,
I'd like to maybe switch them around (Paul/Obama), but as long as he's in there somewhere, I'd feel a little safer - and either combination would probably get my vote. Although, Stephen Colbert was showing past clips last night of Huckabee asking Colbert to be his running mate. I was telling some friends, I'm not totally opposed to Colbert in there somewhere!
January 8, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nesseca (anonymous) says...
There's no way that there would be a Paul/Obama ticket. They are diametrically opposed as far as issues are concerned.
Ron Paul 2008!
January 8, 2008 at 2:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCVOTER (anonymous) says...
Early...I agree...even though you said my family lacked intelligence last week.
January 8, 2008 at 2:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Mon_Kie (anonymous) says...
It's already been decided, and
it doesn't matter who
you have decided to vote for.
January 8, 2008 at 2:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dba31498 (anonymous) says...
Fred Thompson is the only true conservative in the race. He is trong on the military and all the other issues that so important to South Carolina. I am oppsed to Huckabee, because he is in favor of raising taxes like he did 80 times in Arkansas, and because he is the first republican presidential candidate to be endorsed by the NEA, which is oppsed to homeschooling and school choice
January 8, 2008 at 3:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammanofdi (anonymous) says...
And I am opposed to Fred Thompson because he stated on the CNN youtube debate something along the lines that he supported an even more conservative supreme court and that he would make sure that his nominee's reflected so. As someone that has been paying attention to how the supreme court votes, trust me - we do not need a more conservative supreme court. If you think your personal rights have been trounced on now, let someone like that in the White House and then see what happens... Paul is the only person that is trying to actually shrink the federal government - something that should have been happening long ago.
January 8, 2008 at 4:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rich_Hamlin (anonymous) says...
dba31498- Fred Thompson is NOT the true conservative. On issue after issue, Ron Paul has the conservative stand. Fred Thompson is merely neo-conservatism-lite. Not that that's too bad a thing; Fred's the second best candidate.
But you're right on Huckabee. Huckabee, Giuliani, McCain, and Romney aren't conservatives at all.
jammanofdi- When you say we don't need a more conservative Supreme Court, you misunderstand conservatism. A smaller, limited federal government is exactly what conservatism is about--not the bloated monstrosity that the neo-conservatives are advocating. Also, the justices trouncing on individual rights are, for the most part, the less conservative of those on the Supreme Court.
January 8, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammanofdi (anonymous) says...
Rich,
You are right with your definition of "conservatism"; the original definition of conservative has long been lost and replaced with a totally different meaning. In order for most to understand what I am saying though, I have to refer to Thompson and our supreme court as "conservatives" - not the power hungry mongers that they are. Ron Paul is a conservative constitutionalist in the truest sense of the wording. But to most (blind) people, he is a liberal wackjob. These are the people that do nothing but complain about our government every day, yet fail to do anything about it.
January 8, 2008 at 5:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JEdgmon (anonymous) says...
Iowa was the only state besides Mississippi to never elect a black or a female to anything ever. New Hampshire looked at the candidates, and they realized they were being conned quickly. South Carolina will also, I grew up in Goose Creek, went to Goose Creek High School, lived in Ridgeville for many years, and even though I live in South Florida now, I think the national press core just assumes that black people will vote for Obama in SC because he's black. Frankly, that's an insult, while Obama may very well win it, the polls say so anyway, and its more likely than not. But I doubt race will be a factor at all. South Carolina is not as stupid as they think around the country, they will look at the candidates, and come to the same conclusion New Hampshire did, and that's if you're one of the few Democrats that are doing well under Bush, then you should certainly vote for Barack Obama. And I seriously doubt South Carolina will be stupid enough to think because Obama's people will be sent to of C of C, MUSC, Clemson, and USC in huge masses, that young people will vote for him, just because he puts up a Nelly sign, or Oprah shows up in town. Sorry to disappoint the racists, while SC has a bad history in civil rights, no question about it, that doesn't mean black people in SC are as stupid as they think.
January 8, 2008 at 11:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outrage (anonymous) says...
My family are NY Democrats, Yet I support Romney! There are alot of good things going on with Romney.SMALLER GOVERNMENT is my favorite.
January 9, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
freedomlost (anonymous) says...
why do they even have elections?I mean who ever the media wants is who you get,why do you think they wont let ron paul debate.He has great ideas and truly loves and cares for this country,but most people dont use there head,they are brainwashed by the tv..he beat rudy g.in Iowa and they dont let him debate in N.H. lol hmm does that sound like the american way,to me it doesnt..it sounds like rigging the elections.You watch S.C. is next you guys need to demand he get to debate.he may not win but he needs to be heard..or maybe thats what there afraid of..you ppl waking up,that would be terrible if the american people woke up/quick cut to commercial lol....WAKE UP
January 9, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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