Maryland for Fred Thompson

10 Days until the South Carolina Primary
20 Days until the Florida Primary
27 Days until Super Tuesday

• The State:
  

  They were voting in New Hampshire, but Fred Thompson was stumping in South Carolina.

  The television actor and former Tennessee U.S. senator became the first of the 2008 presidential candidates to arrive here Tuesday, abandoning the nation’s first primary and casting his lot in the Palmetto State.

  Tuesday, he opened an 11-day bus tour, campaigning in Greenville, Lexington, Camden and Columbia. Political analysts think Thompson might need to win the Jan. 19 GOP presidential primary to keep his campaign viable.

  “This is his kinda state,” said Yusef Hameen, 54, of Camden, who wandered out of his Broad Street clothing store to see the commotion caused by Thompson’s afternoon arrival. “That’s why he’s here early. He’s a Southerner, so he got here ahead of the rest, which tells me he thinks it’s worth it.”

• The Daily Gamecock:
  

  Former senator Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) felt right at home at a meet-and-greet Tuesday night at Birds on a Wire on Devine Street.

  “All of the other candidates who are running for president are freezing in New Hampshire tonight while I’m in South Carolina,” Thompson said. “Who’s smart enough to run for president?”

  After some initial joking with the crowd, Thompson spoke on the issues of Social Security, the Iraq War and the health care system.

  “We have to do something for the next generation,” Thompson said. “Things aren’t always going to be easy. We are bankrupting the next generation.”

• Hennessy’s View:
  

  The Union Army held onto Fort Sumter for only day, but Fred Thompson hopes to gain and hold South Carolina from now to the convention.