Where’s Hillary?

Mon, January 21, 2008 - 11:47 AM

We're liveblogging via Blackberry from the Martin Luther King day rally at the statehouse in Columbia, S.C.

All three candidates were supposed to be here this morning, but the event has started and only former Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama are here. No sign of Sen. Hillary Clinton. It's freezing here, so maybe she's inside keeping warm.

Edwards and Obama are smiling, looking very friendly, standing close together. Could this be a preview of the general election if Obama (or less likely, Edwards) wins? Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Before the rally, there was a march here from Zion Baptist Church a few blocks away. Only Obama marched, and it was chaos. For some reason, there is intense media interest in an African-American candidate marching on MLK day. Who knew? (Sarcasm alert).

Secret service agents, cops with bullhorns, and march organizers shouted at, jostled and generally pushed past reporters struggling to get close to Obama. I saw one cameraman from a Japanese TV station fall down and get trampled.

Anyway, Edwards, Obama and Clinton (if she gets here) are scheduled to speak soon. This is obviously an important day for African-American voters in the state (and whites, too). They are expected to account for half of all voters on Saturday, so every candidate here is looking for their votes.

Oh, and there's Clinton now.

More soon.

--Sean Mussenden