S.C. in the national spotlight — again

Twice last week the state was mentioned in national media by former President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The topics were — predictably — race and the Confederate flag. Here’s what was said.

“Contrary to the myth, I went through South Carolina and never said a bad word about Senator Obama — not one.”

— Bill Clinton, on what he describes as a “bizarre spin” on comments he made about Obama during the January S.C. primary. Clinton compared the Obama campaign to Jesse Jackson’s bid for the presidency. The Obama campaign and other political observers said Clinton’s remarks were meant to define Obama’s candidacy in strictly racial terms.

“Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African-Americans and white Americans.”

— Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, during his speech last week on race. Obama made the speech to further distance himself from controversial remarks made by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.