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For months South Carolinians have been courted and made to feel special by a host of presidential candidates seeking votes in the “First in the South” Republican and Democrat primary elections.
That will come to a sudden end when the primaries are held in January 2008, a little more than a month from now. After the party conventions are held and the party candidates selected along with their vice-presidential running mates next summer, the nominees may visit the Palmetto State once or twice before the General Election in November 2008. Those visits will likely be a rapid in and out on the same day with a lot of security and little time allowed for speaking with individuals.
Some of the early Republican presidential contenders are already off the political radar. One of my early favorites was Virginia Senator George Allen who made several trips to speak in Greenville. Sen. Allen apparently got some bad advice in his senate race back home and was defeated by a Democrat who was able to get to the right of Allen in the view of voters.
Another promising early campaigner in Greenville Republican circles was the Senate Majority Leader, the surgeon from Tennessee. He disappeared from the radar after Democrats won control of the Senate.
Anyone who wanted to do so has had an opportunity to shake hands with and talk to most of the Republican candidates who have been in and out of Greenville and Spartanburg frequently.
Former Sen. Fred Thompson has scheduled visits to South Carolina in small places so that there will always be an overflow crowd, no matter how many people show up. He rushes in and rushes out in a celebrity fashion with little time for direct communications with voters.
As the race gets into the home stretch, the campaigns are getting a little testy. Ron Paul is the only Republican with a “fall-back” plan. The Libertarian National Committee has adopted a resolution encouraging Ron Paul to seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination should he not be selected to be the Republican presidential candidate.
The Democrat “front-runners” are not so accessible. Senators Clinton and Obama both have Secret Service escorts and are surrounded by a large number of campaign aides who make sure nothing happens that is not part of the campaign plan.
Obama is traveling with Oprah Winfrey, and Clinton is leaning on Mya Angelu, the Clinton dynasty poet.
Former UN Ambassador Andrew Young, the civil rights “elder statesman,” believes Obama is too young and his time will come. Young thinks the Illinois senator needs a protective network such as the Clintons have before he becomes a serious candidate.
One web page claims that Young said in an interview that President Clinton has “gone with” more black women than Obama. Is that how Clinton earned the title of “first black president?”
There are predictions that a lot of young voters will go to the polls next year. Mauldin High School students have already held their Mock Presidential Primary. Some 1,350 votes were cast. The Republicans chose Mitt Romney and the Democrats chose Barack Obama.
The Democrat totals were Obama 576, Clinton 181, Edwards 32 and the other four Democrats received less than 10 votes each.
The Republican totals were Romney with 162 votes, Giuliani had 117, McCain 85, Huckabee 77, Thompson 41 and Ron Paul 40. Hunter and Tancredo each had less than 10 votes.
It will be interesting to see if Mauldin High Students are an accurate gauge of things to come.
If you can’t decide who to vote for, decide who to vote against. I find that easier. When it’s over, they will forget us anyway.
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