The day was hotter than usual, even if it was South Carolina. Our T-shirts stuck to our backs as we climbed out of the cramped car, each of us armed with a notebook. It was the day of the South Carolina Republican primary, a pivotal head-to-head matchup between Arizona Senator John McCain and Texas governor George W. Bush.
The first stop was McCain headquarters. An elderly gentleman with McCain stickers plastered all over his sports coat was furiously waving a "Honk if you support McCain" sign to cars passing on the highway. The headquarters itself was housed in a small, gray building adjoining a photocopying center. Several young-looking supporters milled around, their clothing adorned with campaign buttons and stickers.
Inside, volunteers swarmed like ants in the cramped building. We were directed immediately to Robert Pipkin, the Media Coordinator, who was wearing a Berkeley alum shirt. Pipkin's harried face reflected the stress that had mounted after 16-hour workdays and the final stages of the primary.
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"We're fighting a battle here. Right now we're neck and neck," he said.
Someone called Pipkin to the back of the room, and we were left standing to watch the array of computers, volunteers and papers scattered across desks and floor spaces.
A man with white hair and a long nose wandered up. Julian Baker Jr. is from Raleigh, N.C. He came down to Columbia to help out, since the primary was to be so pivotal in the Republican race.
"I'm keeping banker's hours," Baker said with a chuckle, explaining his long days of answering phones and greeting supporters at headquarters.
Baker has known McCain since high school. He recalls that McCain "always treated everyone fairly and kindly" and that Baker was glad to cross McCain's path again when he was serving as a naval officer in Rota, Spain.
"We got the chance to renew our friendship," Baker said.
Baker is not only loyal to McCain on a personal level; he also supports him politically.
"I think he will support the military and improve living conditions as well as ensure higher salaries. I think he will back our troops the way Clinton has not," he said.
We piled into the car again after an over-priced lunch to seek out the Bush camp. The headquarters were on a tree-lined street in a boxy white house. In contrast with the McCain headquarters, Bush's home base seemed unusually quiet. We knocked and stepped into an office atmosphere, where two volunteers greeted us from behind two desks. Then Media Coordinator Loretta Campbell emerged. She smiled broadly, exposing a set of white teeth, as she ushered us into the kitchen area.
"I can't really talk to you about the primary," Campbell said, still smiling.
Nonetheless, Campbell did explain that she has been a loyal Bush volunteer since 1994.
"I'm from Dallas, and he gave us a lot of leadership there," she said. She began opening a cup of frozen yogurt. "It's all about vision. And Bush and the Republican Party provide direction in this country. You know, this is such an awesome country."
We headed back out into the hazy Carolina sunshine, bound for a polling station at a local high school. Dreher High School is a large rectangular building located in a quiet neighborhood just across the street from a picturesque Methodist church.
A few voters wandered in and out of its open doors. One couple stood off to the side of the stairs with their fluffy-haired dog. Bill and Jane Mayberry of Columbia, as well as their dog, Foxy, said they support Alan Keyes as a man with great ideas.
"But we know he has no chance to win, so we voted for Bush. We like his economic policies," Bill said. Ideally, the Mayberrys said they would like to see a Bush and Keyes ticket.
The brightly-lit letters of the Sheraton crawled across the top of the shadowy hotel building in the distance. The parking lot was almost full, and the bumper stickers on the rows of parked cars read, "South Carolina is Bush Country."
Streams of well-dressed Bush supporters passed through the hotel doors and into the convention center. The large room looked as if it were decorated for a Fourth of July party, complete with baskets of ultra-patriotic red, white and blue tortilla chips.
Reporters set up shop on a series of aluminum bleachers opposite the podium where Bush was to speak. Lights blared as people with flags and Bush buttons began gathering around the stage. A three-man band struck up a version of Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca," while a large projection screen broadcasted CNN news. By 8:30 p.m., the preliminary polls were in: Bush with a five-percent lead. The crowd, infused with both alcohol and excitement, cheered. By 9 p.m., when most polls had been cast, the numbers showed Bush with 53 percent and McCain with 42 percent.
Soon the winner of the South Carolina primary and his wife Laura were on stage, waving to a tightly packed crowd. The enthusiasm of the crowd eclipsed even the pleasure on the governor's face.
The crowd cheered wildly and pushed through toward the front as Bush said, "263 days more till the end of Clinton/Gore."
The crowd waved red, white and blue pom-poms when Bush declared, "I believe that because of this vote today I will be the next president of the United States."
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