More than two-thirds of likely Republican and Democratic primary voters in South Carolina want the United States to lead the world in reducing the number of nuclear weapons globally and believe that those reductions would make the United States safer, according to a new public opinion poll commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Majorities in both parties further agreed that current U.S. policy makes it more likely that other countries will try to acquire their own nuclear weapons, because that policy includes the option of using nuclear weapons against countries without nuclear weapons. Likewise, majorities oppose the U.S. policy option of using nuclear weapons first in a conflict, and believe the United States should only use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack, or should never use them. (For a brief overview of the poll, click here.

“These poll results demonstrate that there is bipartisan support for a new U.S. nuclear weapons policy,” said Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund, co-director of UCS’s Global Security Program. “Voters in South Carolina, like those throughout the country, consider U.S. words and actions to be critical to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.”

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By Kevin Alexander Gray

When I’m out in public inevitably someone will ask me whom do I support in the presidential race. When I say nobody, it’s often met with skepticism. Yet according to the latest poll of likely Democratic primary voters, many of us are still in the undecided column. I suppose the disbelief in my case stems from my somewhat ongoing involvement in politics for over twenty years. I was a volunteer with Jesse Jackson’s 1984 campaign. Four years later, I coordinated his ‘88 South Carolina bid under the tutelage of the late Dr. Walker Solomon, who served as the campaign’s chairman.

Jackson won the South Carolina Democratic caucus in 1988, garnering 64% of the vote. It was Jackson’s first and biggest percentage victory. Jackson won 11 states and 7 million votes. He won most of the South, picking up 90% of the black vote along the way.

The Rainbow experience is a constant factor in my political calculations. Jackson’s 1984 Democratic National Convention speech energized me. Our mission, he said, was “to feed the hungry; to clothe the naked; to house the homeless; to teach the illiterate; to provide jobs for the jobless; and to choose the human race over the nuclear race.” His constituency was “the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised. They are restless and seek relief…”

That’s what I believe, and it’s where I’m from. It’s where Jackson came from, which is why he connected to people in a genuine way. I’m not suggesting that a candidate be like Jackson. Still, I want to hear someone who takes on the needs of the poor and working class not as an afterthought, but from the beginning of the journey.

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For me? Not so much. For some? Absolutely.
By Becci Robbins

When it was all said and done, the Oprah-Obama Love Fest on Sunday in Columbia was long on platitudes and short on substance. I left feeling vaguely disappointed and sporting the kind of headache that comes from squinting for hours into the sun and slowly roasting in the freakish December heat. In the nosebleed section of the cavernous Williams-Brice Stadium. With no water.

But the rally had its moments, and the crowd itself was spectacular. It’s not often that people gather here and cheer together, not unless there is a ball involved. And it’s rare to see such a diverse collection of folks feeling a shared sense of hope that someone just might lead us out of the dark hole the Bush administration has fashioned for us. And then there was Oprah, girl. I mean, there she was, in three dimensions. Live and in living color. She gave a speech that, frankly, was stronger than Obama’s. Again and again, the crowd erupted into wild applause.

To see more photos from the event, check out our photo album. To view short video clips of the rally, click here.

So it was a sweet vibe in Williams-Brice Stadium on Sunday, and I’m glad for that. But I wanted more. I’d seen Obama during his first visit to Columbia, which was exciting (the seemingly endless primary season had not yet taken its toll). Months later – and after taking considerable heat for lacking specifics on key policy positions – Obama gave much the same spiel. It was not the evolution I’d hoped for.

So I remain camped in the fattest Democratic voter demographic: the Undecideds. I never thought I’d find myself here, as I usually gravitate early and eagerly toward a candidate. This time, I could live with any of them but am excited by none of them. In fact, it seems like the only people getting excited about a candidate are paid to be.

Most of my friends are still uncommitted, although there’s a lot of leaning going on. Before the Obama rally, some friends invited us to tailgate with them, and what struck me was the lack of enthusiasm for any of the campaigns. One was leaning toward Clinton, a few – as always happens when Lefties congregate – lamented that Kucinich was right on all the issues but unelectable, “bless his heart.” Most said they were leaning toward Edwards. But with no apparent passion.

The same dynamic was at work last month at the SC Progressive Summit, which involved representatives of some 50 organizations. We had a free-wheeling session about the candidates, and invited people to share their thoughts. We followed it with a straw poll. Kucinich won, and Obama came in a close second, followed by Edwards and Clinton. I didn’t know which name I would write down until I was writing it. If you’d asked me two minutes earlier or two minutes later, I might have voted differently. That’s how undecided I am.

I had hoped the Obama rally would clarify things for me, but it didn’t. But it did for my friend Kevin Gray, who called Sunday night to talk about the rally. He was underwhelmed by Obama’s performance, which struck him as empty rhetoric. “I didn’t think he said anything insightful or particularly inspiring. You throw Bush and Cheney’s name out on the line and the crowd goes mad. Throw in Martin Luther King lines and the crowd goes mad. But there was no core message. i would like to hear – at this point of stress and uncertainty in America – more about challenging power. He needs a speech writer.”

He pointed out what he thought were some tactical errors, like mentioning the USC Gamecocks but not recognizing any of the black colleges in Columbia. “Most people in the stadium didn’t go to the university. Many of them had never been in the stadium before.”

Kevin was state coordinator for Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign, and said Obama’s message was missing the concept of “a rising tide lifts all boats,” the idea that resonated in Jesse’s campaign. “There was no concept of ‘we,’ no sense of constituent groups coming together.”

He said he went to the rally with no expectations. “I went to see the spectacle. With all this race talk, you’re going to go see the black guy – but he’s not the black guy. All of the candidates have the white-guy model, every one of them.”

So who’s Kevin leaning toward at this point? “If i had to vote right now I’d vote for Edwards. He’s bringing the term ‘working class’ into the debate. That little pink house is stuck in my head.”

While Kevin was put off by it, the rally worked for some folks. My friend Steve Hait (who designed and manages the Progressive Network’s Web site) went with his wife, Christine, his daughter, Sofi, and her 7-year-old friend. He said if he had to vote today he’d probably choose Obama. Christine, who was on the fence before the event, now says she’ll vote for him. And Sofi, well, she was an Obama girl all along. She went to the senator’s first Columbia rally and was impressed enough that days later, when kids in her class were asked to name someone famous, they blurted out Superman and Britney Spears. Sofi said, “Barack Obama!”

Steve said he was glad he went. “I felt good being there with my daughter and her friend. It was just relaxed and happy.” He was a little irked that at the door he’d had to give up the snacks and drinks he’d brought, only to be offered bottled water inside for $3.75. But other than that he had a great time, and left feeling more inclined to vote for Obama.

He thinks the pundits who call Obama too inexperienced are wrong. His community organizing background and demonstrated commitment to working on behalf of labor and poor people are exactly the credentials Steve is looking for in a candidate. “I have a hard time thinking of Hillary like that.”

So, my unscientific survey of friends shows Lefties all over the map. Any of the Democratic candidates would be light years better than Bush, we all agree. And wouldn’t it be great to make history by electing the first black president of the United States? The first woman? A guy who’ll fight for the working poor?

Yes, indeed.

Unlike our Republican brethren, who seem unhappy with their slate of candidates, Democrats are in the envious position of voting FOR someone rather than the lesser of evils. This, my friends, is progress.

An estimated 29,000 folks turned out for the Obama/Oprah rally at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Sunday. This was the view from the cheap seats.

To see photos of the event, click here.