Politics Central … NV, SC edition

Weekend Buzz ...

from Friday’s program:

Road Report: John King reported on Republicans campaigning in South Carolina and Candy Crowley reported on Democrats campaigning in Nevada. GOP candidates focused on the economy (and will probably continue to do so in the coming days and weeks) and Democratic candidates reverted back to the familiar theme of change. A summary of the Nevada Caucus results and the GOP South Carolina primary follows.




Bible Belt support: Gary Tuchman reported on the status of evangelical support in South Carolina, the most evangelical of all states. Although their faith is steadfast, they weren’t quite as clear about whom should get their vote in the SC primary. Gary also interviewed SC State Senator Michael Fair, who stated that he was backing John McCain, who turned out to be the primary winner. But as Senator Fair indicated, the “traditional” family values issues were not the only factors he (or other voters) were considering.





This was echoed during Anderson’s live interview with David Gergen and David Brody (Christian Broadcasting Network). Evangelicals in South Carolina also place high priority on national security, which seemed to help solidify McCain’s win.



Wrongly Convicted: Drew Griffin had a report about Tim Masters, convicted of the murder of Peggy Hettrick, a stranger whose body had been dumped in a field that Masters walked through routinely on his way to school. Yes, school – high school. The then 15-year-old was a suspect, even though the only evidence police had was the fact that he didn’t report having seen the body in the field, as he stated that he thought it was a fake – as in a mannequin. Masters was convicted in 1999, twelve years after the murder – with the only additional evidence being various sketches that he had done of the field and the body. In this rush to judgment, Police Investigator Linda Wheeler-Holloway testified that she believed Masters was guilty, due to pressure she felt from others investigators to close the case. The testimony was a key to the conviction. Thankfully, DNA evidence has now proved that Tim Masters had nothing to do with the murder, and is now pointing in the direction of one of Peggy Hettrick’s former boyfriends. Drew was able to announce breaking news at the conclusion of the taped report, saying that lawyers for Masters would be in court on Tuesday to arrange for his release from jail. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear about some kind of lawsuit being filed against Wheeler-Holloway and the Fort Collins Police Department at some point in the future.



Bobby Fischer: As the song goes: “What a long, strange trip it’s been”, and I guess that especially applies to the life (and the passing) of former chess champion Bobby Fischer. It’s too bad that he held such hostility towards the United States government.



Esteban Colberto interviews Lou Dobbs: Well, I included the video clip of the full interview in Friday’s entry – glad to see that 360° also picked up on it and included it as the “Shot” of the day. It was really much too funny – and as Anderson said, Lou enjoyed it all as well. And this is one of those moments when you really have to give credit not only to the comic genius of Stephen Colbert, but also to Jon Stewart for recognizing it, not being intimidated by it and helping to give Stephen a platform from which to, well, soar ... and yes, that's a vague "Colbeagle" reference! ;-)



Saturday’s Political News:

Well, not many surprises – Mitt Romney won the Nevada GOP Caucus, Hillary Clinton won the Nevada Democratic Caucus and John McCain won the South Carolina GOP Primary.



A few observations – I’m wondering how much longer John Edwards will remain in the race? I thought his showing in Nevada would be a little more significant. Same question for Fred Thompson, although he had an otherwise ‘respectable’ percentage in South Carolina. His expectation, though, was much higher. And I understand why – sort of – but I have the little ‘mantra’ from earlier this week still rattling around in my head: “Ambien in shoes”. And perhaps other future candidates can learn from a few “Fred-isms” – for example, don’t tell the world that you really don’t have the ambition to be President of the United States. For example - even if I can’t support Hillary Clinton, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that her desire for this position is permanently attached to every strand of her DNA and that it totally consumes every waking moment of her existence – and has for a very (very) long time. If you don’t really want this job - for the reasons that someone should want it - then we’ll have another George W. Bush-type leader that we’ll have to endure.

One more observation – if Fred Thompson hadn’t been in the race, would Mike Huckabee have given the victory speech last night? It’s water under the bridge, but a possibility – or maybe a probability?? So it’s on to Florida ... and back to SC for Clinton/Obama/Edwards - to campaign for this Saturday’s Democratic Primary.

Am I allowed to say that this is (probably) my favorite shot of the evening??


Remember to watch the Democratic Debate this coming Monday evening at 8:00 PM EST, followed by a wrap-up on Anderson Cooper 360°, and then the AC360° special: “Race and Politics”, co-anchored with Soledad O’Brien.



And I’ve resisted until now, but I’m succumbing to temptation – even though I’m well aware that they’ve been extraordinarily professional about their relationship:

“Awwww ... how cute!!!”
(In case you haven’t heard, John King & Dana Bash are engaged ...)

Thanks for visiting - hope you had a terrific weekend!