Republicans all business in Columbia for debate

Friday, 18 May 2007

Page 1 of 4 John McCain By Dan McCue COLUMBIA -- If the atmosphere surrounding the first-in-the-south Democratic presidential debate in Orangeburg two weeks ago was that of an all-out party, their Republican counterparts’ gathering on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia Tuesday was all business, if not exactly about business. Absent were the marching bands and cheerleaders who had done so much to pump up the volume of MSNBC’s broadcast from South Carolina State University. Instead, Fox News strove for sobriety, emphasizing organization over bombast and security above just about all else. The nearest one could find to students enthusiastically waving placards for their candidate of choice, for instance, were a half dozen supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the former Libertarian staking out a position as the “true conservative” in the race. But Paul’s supporters weren’t outside USC’s Kroger Center for the Arts, where the debate was held. They were several blocks away standing in the shadow of the Confederate flag that flies on the grounds of the state capitol. “We were told the area around the Kroger Center was a designated no-protest zone,” said Matt Kneece, a 19-year-old USC student, as he beckoned to passersby to accept a flier, DVD or a pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence from the campaign. With a shrug and a cheerful smile, however, he quickly added, “to me the real import of this event is that it gives lesser known, dark horse candidates a chance to get their names and points of view out there,” he said. “The media all talk about McCain and Giuliani and Romney; this debate will serve to introduce South Carolinians to the rest of the field, and that’s important whether you’re a student like myself or someone in business,” Kneece said. << Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>