I spent my Fourth of July in South Carolina, aka the Palmetto State, and as luck would have it two people I greatly admire were also in the state, but alas not in the town I was visiting!
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), a candidate for president, was in a Rock Hill, SC, a place I am quite familiar with, to talk to 75 people at a campaign breakfast at York County Democratic headquarters.
Further down the state, and also on Saturday, political comedian and Comedy Central personality Stephen Colbert was in Charleston to throw out a 'first pitch' during a minor league baseball game at Riley Park between the Charleston River Dogs and the Savannah Sea Gnats. There are two ironies to this story. The first is that instead of throwing a baseball, Colbert threw out a pint of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. The second is that the game was rained out. But, the first inning was played, so Colbert got to make his 'pitch' and fans could still come back to another River Dogs game.
According to Kathryn Thier of "The Charlotte Observer," Richardson told the Rock Hill gathering that he was aware of the fact that he is 'not a rock star.' But, he added that it is something that he's trying to improve upon.
Richardson said that he is moving up in both the polls and in fund-raising efforts. He joked that: 'Of course, I started below the margin of error.'
The New Mexico governor also talked about foreign policy, Iraq, education, health care and the economy. Richardson added that he also wants to restore America's standing in the world.
According to the Observer, Barbara Kutz, the secretary of the York County Democrats, was impressed with Richardson. She stated that America needs a leader who can work with other nations without being a 'schoolyard bully.'
The current front-runners in the Democratic race are (as you probably well-know) Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
In Charleston, Colbert was in town to take in baseball and raise funds for the families of the nine firefighters who were recently killed in Charleston. The tv-host was also promoting his new product, Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream_ an new Ben and Jerry's ice flavor_ which is also intended to raise funds for the firefighters' families. Colbert is a native of Charleston.
Bill Henley of "The (Charleston) Post and Courier" wrote an article about the event for a baseball game which was over soon after the national anthem:
"It was a great night for a towel giveaway and celebrity sightings, but an unfortunate night for baseball."
The game was made up today. According to the River Dogs' web site, the home team own both games of the double-header. In the first game, one of the team's star players Seth Fortenberry clubbed two homeruns to help the River Dogs beat the Sand Gnats 8-2. They won the second game by a 2-1 margin.
It would be great if I had a youtube clip of Bill Richardson on "The Stephen Colbert Report," presuming he has been on that show. But, assuredly, many people running for president will appear on the Colbert show. Alas, I don't get Comedy Central........., so you will have to keep me informed!
Gov. Richardson is my personal favorite choice for the Democratic nomination, though I thought that the last Democratic debate at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was a shinning moment for Sen. Clinton.
Useful links:
For Colbert:
For Richardson:
http://www.charlotte.com or http://www.charlotteobserver.com
http://www.richardsonforpresident.com
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