What to do with South Carolina post-election?

It's an odd scenario as post election numbers clear up, studies conducted, and trends analyzed. The immediate aftermath of the election was a republican collective sigh--they had weathered the storm in our state and won all the major elections, from McCain as president to Lindsey Graham as senator, Joe Wilson as Congressman, etc. etc. But since the day-after sigh, it's not been such a rosy picture. The New York Times analyzed voting returns county by county, and concluded some areas in the South voted more Republican this year than four years ago. Their conclusion--race. Certain parts of the South and Appalachia came out in white droves to stop Obama. Check out the article and map at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/us/politics/11south.html?_r=1&sq=south&st=cse&oref=slogin

It's pretty revealing because South Carolina looks much more like North Carolina and Virginia than the other deep south states that moved even more republican. And remember, North Carolina and Virginia actually voted for Obama. So the big question: is this an actual trend in the coastal south, a democratic trend, or just an Obama phenomenon. To see how I tackled this issue in a two minute TV story, check out www.abccolumbia.com.