Politics

Starting Gate: South Carolina Rises

By Vaughn Ververs

November 2, 2007 / 8:09 AM EDT / CBS News

South Carolina has long been a warm "firewall" for Republican front-runners who may stumble in the cold, hard states of Iowa and New Hampshire. In 1988, the state helped then-Vice President George H. W. Bush recover from an embarrassing third-place showing in Iowa and a tough battle in New Hampshire. In 1996, Bob Dole used the state to shore himself up after a loss to Pat Buchanan in New Hampshire. And, in 2000, then-Texas governor George Bush won a very nasty battle in South Carolina after John McCain hammered him in New Hampshire.

The state is positioned to play an important role in the GOP nomination once again this year, but it may be more a catalyst than firewall heading into contests in Florida and Super Duper Tuesday. A new poll from Winthrop University and ETV shows a statistical dead heat among three candidates for the GOP nomination, with Fred Thompson at 17.9 percent and Mitt Romney and Giuliani tied at 16.5 percent each. McCain registered at just 9.2 percent, down from 14 percent in May.

The state is poised to play an equally important role in the Democratic contest. In 2004, it was the only state John Edwards won (he was born there and lives in North Carolina), but it proved just a hiccup on John Kerry's march to the nomination. Edwards is running a distant third there this time, according to the poll, with just 9.6 percent support. The Democratic primary will be a key test of African American support, with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fiercely competing for that key segment of the party. Half or more of the party's primary voters are expected to be African American and Clinton holds a wide lead overall, 33 percent to 22.7 percent.

Can We Talk? In an interview with the New York Times, Barack Obama repeated his willingness to open direct talks with Iran, should he be elected. Obama said that while Iran's quest for nuclear weapons and its involvement in terrorist activities are real concerns, he would hold out the possibility that "changes in behavior" on Iran's part may be rewarded. "We are willing to talk about certain assurances in the context of them showing some good faith," Obama tells the Times. "I think it is important for us to send a signal that we are not hellbent on regime change, just for the sake of regime change, but expect changes in behavior. And there are both carrots and there are sticks available to them for those changes in behavior."

Rudy Gets Some Senate Love: Giuliani yesterday received the endorsement of Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, a moderate Republican facing a tough re-election in a state which will host the 2008 GOP convention. "The shared vision as mayor of getting things done, tied in with his strong stance on security, Rudy gets that," Coleman told the AP. "So you tie those two together and it's a pretty powerful combination." Also, Giuliani is set to get the endorsement of Missouri Senator Kit Bond today.

Around The Track

Iowa analysts see Chris Dodd's latest ads, which feature and name some of his Democratic opponents, as possibly the beginning of the negative season.

Why do we think this might get a bit more attention? Speaking to students at her alma mater, Wellesley College, Clinton remembered her days at the all-girls school when they had strict rules about entertaining young men. "We had to observe what was called then the 'two feet rule,'" she said. "That meant two out of four feet had to be on the floor at all times. Try it sometime."

The FEC Thursday declared Edwards eligible for federal matching funds. Edwards is the only major candidate so far to take federal funds, which require the campaign to adhere to certain spending limits in primary and caucus states but will provide a much-needed financial boost.

DraftGore.com is launching a TV ad on CNN and in New Hampshire to encourage the former vice president to run. The filing deadline for the New Hampshire primary is 5:00pm today.

The AP reports one "reporter" found a way to get a presidential candidate's attention and time – cry. Hadassah Jones, a 5-year-old correspondent for brandnewz.com, shed some tears when the Obama campaign initially denied interview requests from reporters. Obama gave Jones a brief interview. Get those waterworks ready everyone.