Obama came to Greenville and Spartanburg, SC, on Friday and drew a crowd of 3,500 in Greenville.
I didn't get to attend, but you can read what the local paper had to say here: http://greenvilleonline.com/...
Greenville is heavily Republican territory. You just don't see Democrats drawing a crowd like this here. The local paper, while taking its expected digs at him, noted that Obama's audience "dwarfed" Hillary Clinton's in her last visit here in late April, where she drew only a few hundred people.
Obama also spoke to an invitation-only crowd of 300 in neighboring Spartanburg, a story on that here: http://www.goupstate.com/...
From the Greenville News: "For Democrats in the Republican-dominated Upstate, it was a rare sight, that many people cheering one of their candidates. "I've never seen anything like it," said Andy Arnold, Greenville Democratic Party chairman."
Latest SC poll had Clinton leading here at 34 percent, followed by Edwards at 30 percent and Obama at 15.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I just can't see Hillary winning or even doing that well in South Carolina. There's nothing warm, fuzzy or personable about Hillary, and I can't see Southerners getting excited about her. (Disclaimer: I wish I felt more excited about Hillary. I think she's very, very smart and tough and I would love to see a woman elected President. I think Bill Clinton is brilliant. I feel like if I can't even get excited about Hillary, who in this state could?)
I think her support in the polls is nothing but name recognition at this point and a sign that people haven't paid much attention to the campaigns yet.
Greenville News story quoted an area college professor speculating about Hillary. "...The million-dollar question is, has her support maxed out? If it has, then there are still a huge number of undecideds out there, and Obama is in a great position to win them over," Huffmon said. Obama is poised to "give her a serious run if he can compete successfully for those independents," he said.