Presidential candidate Howard Dean visited Charleston, South Carolina on October 3, 2003. I was fortunate enough to attend, and I hope you enjoy my pictures and account of the three events at which I saw Dean that day.

My husband and I took a day off work for this event, and I decorated my car for our trip. I painted the Generation Dean web site, the South Carolina Democratic primary date (Feb. 3!) and, across my windshield, I wrote "SC welcomes Dr. Dean!"

I'm sure most people who saw it wondered what the heck it was about -- but that was the point.

A little bit about me: I am 31, a graphic designer, happily married, a graduate of College of Charleston (in SC), and a lifetime SC resident and Democrat. I have never before gotten this excited over and given this much time to a candidate. From all I have seen and read, there are thousands of Americans like me in this respect.

The first event was a rally at the College of Charleston. That's us at left...we're dorks, I know.

I'm told ~1300 people came to see Dean, hear the bands and eat free crabs.Charleston's on the coast. It's beautiful. The College is well known for partying. Believe me, there's a reason.

College of Charleston's Gospel Choir performed, and mightily. "Their band's really good," my husband noted. The soloist at right -- you can see how well she did by the choir's obvious reaction!

Dean's plane was about an hour late, but the weather was so perfect and the mood was good, so most people stuck around anyway. At around 7:00 PM (I think) Dean finally arrived and took the podium. He was accompanied by Jesse Jackson Jr., and seemed well-rested and energetic.

As you can see, I was very close to the stage. Some people from North Carolina had arrived early and staked out this great spot with a blanket. I knew some of them and so they let me and Charlie share the wealth.

At left is Alex Barkley, Dean's SC Generation Dean leader. She interned with the campaign this summer and is an inspiration to all of us, with enthusiasm to spare.

At right is Jesse Jackson Jr.

The crowd was fired up. Dean said many things I had heard before (because I'm a news junkie, particularly when it comes to Dean) but I was still impressed because he doesn't come off as robotic or automatic like I've noticed some candidates do.

Also, he is very comfortable speaking off-the-cuff and can answer or respond to voiced questions without hesitation.

I'm just going to post some other pictures from the speech. You can see how animated Dean is.

There's that great smile! The audience cracked him up a few times with comments.

When Dean mentioned the importance of the South Carolina primary, I shouted "Feb. 3" and he repeated it.

Among the topics he touched on were the deceptiveness of the Bush administration about the war and other things; the need to get the economy going; his desire to be sure every American has healthcare; the South's loss of textile jobs over the last 30 years, and the myth that the American middle class got a tax cut.

He also pointed out that SC has been voting more or less for Republicans for the last 20-30 years (true) and asked, "What do you have to show for it?" It's a valid question. SC is a poor state with big problems, from domestic violence to children in poverty to low-wage workers without healthcare to environmental erosion.

In my opinion (and Dean's), South Carolina would be better off if we'd wake up and realize that we'd be better served with Democrats in office.

During his speech later that night at the church, Dean stressed that you cannot both have severe tax cuts (or even light ones) and fund the things people want, such as healthcare, education, defense and so on.

My favorite picture of the night. By the way, that's my Sharpie pen Dean's holding. :-)

This is Morris Brown AME Church on Morris Street in downtown Charleston. Dean's speaking at the front.
There was pretty low light in the church and also, it's a house of worship so I didn't want to take a bunch of pictures. The ones I did take were kind of fuzzy. This was the best one.

Dean entertained direct questions at this forum. This was where I was most impressed by his sincerity and ability to answer clearly and unhesitatingly. It seemed like most of the questions were about education, a couple were about healthcare, a couple about Dean's electability and support, and only two were about the war in Iraq.

A Hispanic man from North Carolina who works for the Mt. Olive pickle company, whose workers have long been engaged in a union struggle with the management, stood up and told Dean he had driven down from North Carolina (4 hours) to ask for Dean's support and endorsement of the workers.

Dean's answer was quick and simple: "You've got it." He continued with his belief that unions had saved the country and made it great about 100 years ago and that it was time for them to do it again. His concern for those who earn a living with their labor (as opposed to those who earn by investing money they already have) comes across very strongly. SC is not heavily unionized but with more jobs disappearing, more groups are taking a look at it.

The other killer picture of the night: me and Charlie with Joe Trippi. For those who don't know who Joe Trippi is, you have got to get more involved with the Dean campaign. No, seriously. He is the wizard of Dean's campaign. The blogs, the surprise surges in popularity, the ingenious new strategies... the campaign owes a great deal to this man.

Even with the lights on, LJ's (the King Street bar we went to next) was dark. This was an interesting and cool part of the night. The church was an African American church (AME = African Methodist Episcopal, a common denomination here in the South) and the bar, LJ's, was a black nightclub, a neighborhood-type bar in downtown Charleston near the church. I had never been there and I can honestly say that if not for the event, I probably never would have gone.

 

To me, that's one of the best things about the campaign: its diversity. Dean supporters span not just race, but age, party affiliation (yes, I am meeting Republicans, Greens, and Independents at Meetups!), interests, physical capability and who knows what else. Even if Dean doesn't get the nomination (and I believe he WILL) it has been worth it to me to know that such a campaign as his is possible. That such a caring politician exists.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual trip to the Raise the 'Roots Charleston tour. If you ever get the chance, travel to see Dean. You will like what you see.

If you want to write me, you can send email to demimonde_nc -at- hotmail.com. I may not write you back, as I get a lot of email. But I welcome ideas about how to spread the word about Dean in SC.

 

All of these images were taken with a digital camera. Most are not large enough to print, so please don't write and ask me for prints! I grant full permission for use of these photos online or otherwise, as they are my own creation.