News 14 Carolina - Political Connections

Columbia, SC 11:21pm

I'm sitting the ballroom of a hotel here in Columbia. It served as the GOP headquarters tonight as John McCain won the South Carolina Primary over Mike Huckabee by about 14,000 votes.

It's crazy being a TV station working late in a situation like this. Hotel workers around us are trying to put away all the tables and are putting up all the chairs. FOX news still has to do liveshots for the West Coast stations which means they are trying to keep a good background despite all the cleanup.

You would be amazed at the hours of work that goes into minutes of television.

Anyway, now it's up to the pundits to decide what this all means. McCain lost SC in 2000 and lost the nomination but he's won now. Some say that validates his campaign this year. On top of that since 1980 no candidate has lost SC and gone on to win the nomination. What does this mean for Huckabee? He's a Southern guy who just lost in the first Southern contest.

I was standing next to the SC chairman as Fox News and AP called the race. He got out his phone and was talking to McCain in minutes to congratulate the candidate and his staff.

Anywho, we are taking a short break tomorrow and are heading over to Myrtle Beach for Monday's debate with the Democrats.

I have to say looking back it was an unbelievable experience to see all the candidates. They were very accessible and great to work with. I'm curious with the "stars" on the Democratic ticket how easy that task will be next week. I believe Hillary and Obama have Secret Service which always makes it a challenge.

Anyway, I need to finish my story and get to sleep after another long day. It will be nice to recharge the batteries and get back to work on Monday.

Have a great Sunday!