McCain Wins South Carolina

Eight years after his first try, John McCain has won the Republican primary in South Carolina.

From the Associated Press:

Sen. John McCain won a hard-fought South Carolina primary Saturday night, avenging a bitter personal defeat in a bastion of conservatism and gaining ground in an unpredictable race for the Republican presidential nomination.

...McCain defeated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in a close race in the state that snuffed out his presidential hopes eight years ago. The Arizonan was gaining 33 percent of the vote to just under 30 percent for his closest rival.

"It just took us a while. That's all. Eight years is not a long time," McCain told the AP.

Appearing before supporters, Huckabee was a gracious loser, congratulating McCain for "running a civil and a good and a decent campaign."

Far from conceding defeat in the race, he added, "The process is far, far from over."

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson was in a struggle for third place with about 16 percent, after saying he needed a strong showing to sustain his candidacy. Another Republican, California Rep. Duncan Hunter, dropped out even before the votes were tallied.

A few thoughts on the Republicans and the South Carolina primary--

Although the primary is over, the most newsworthy thing about it may not be the results, that McCain won.


The questions that South Carolina's results raise are of more interest to me.

Is Huckabee now beginning to position himself for the VP position on a ticket with McCain?

It seems that he'd be willing to fill the spot.

But as Huckabee says, the process is far from over.

I, for one, don't accept the inevitability of McCain. Not yet.

It's Super Tuesday, stupid.

The big question is Fred Thompson's future.

Will Thompson push forward or will he follow Duncan Hunter's lead and drop out?

At this point, Thompson is still in the race.

Former Tennessee senator Fred Dalton Thompson, who was locked in a battle for a disappointing third place in South Carolina's primary, gave an impassioned and reflective speech to supporters in Columbia, even before the votes were tallied, but did not quite say that he was ready to drop out of the race.

Thompson had said repeatedly to supporters and reporters that he needed a strong finish in South Carolina to stay in the White House race -- a finish that he appeared to be denied Saturday, ending up far behind Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

In a speech that seemed to be leading up to an announcement that he would quit, a normally laid-back Thompson thundered for 10 minutes about the less obvious accomplishments of his run for the presidency.

"It's never been about me. It's never even been about you. It's been about our country," Thompson said after thanking his supporters.

He said that because of his campaign, the national Republican party "is being required to look at itself in the mirror."

That kind of language normally leads to an announcement that a candidate is giving up the chase. Aides said they did not know for sure what the former star of NBC's "Law & Order" and several Hollywood blockbusters was going to say when he went out onto the stage in Columbia.

But Thompson ended the speech with "God bless you!" and walked off the stage, leaving the crowd in the hall and the national television audience wondering about his plans.

Thompson sounded like a candidate determined to stay on the trail. I hope he is.

But if he does choose to get out of the race, I hope his exit isn't as drawn out as his entry into the presidential race was.