Orangeburg, South Carolina
Nearly every poll conducted in South Carolina since January 1 shows Barack Obama with a double-digit lead. And after Hillary Clinton's win in Nevada last Saturday, it looked as though she might give South Carolina little more than lip service.

In the beginning of the week, Clinton (Hillary) traveled to New York, New Jersey, California, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. But another Clinton (Bill) was dispatched to South Carolina, where he proceeded to make news by taking a hatchet to Obama and the press. Then late Wednesday, the campaign announced that Sen. Clinton would be barnstorming South Carolina, too. She has a full campaign schedule here for Thursday and Friday, separate from the campaigning her husband is doing.

For his part, Clinton (Bill) seems to be relishing his return to the stage. He appeared in a small conference room in Lexington on Thursday morning. There were chairs for 150. By the time the former president walked onto the risers at 8:55 a.m., there were still a handful of empty seats; the only people standing were Secret Service and journalists.

He spoke briefly, giving a Rashomon version of his wife's autobiographical speech. He told the audience how much she cares; how, when they were in law school together, she would come home crying after seeing mistreated children.

In substance, Clinton mentions foreign policy only in passing. For the most part, he lamented that "this election is unfolding against an urgent need to reestablish the middle class dream in America." The "economic crisis," he warned, "is very significant."

"You don't have to be against anybody . . ." he told the crowd. "The issue is, who would be the best president. . . . It depends on how you define it. . . . But if you believe that America has to get back into the solutions business. . . . Then your test for president should be who is the best changemaker in other people's lives. . . And if that's the test, then Hillary is the best answer." This riff coincided with the new Hillary placards on display: "Solutions for America."

Clinton also stressed his wife's ability to work with Republicans, singling out her work with Lindsay Graham and John McCain. "If the test is who's got the longest record of achievement," he said, then Hillary is the answer.

He was low-key throughout, wrapping up his remarks after 15 minutes. He closed with a strange locution saying, "I hope South Carolina will give her a good vote . . . this is the kind of state that needs a president." (That's not a typo--it's a phrase he would use frequently during the day.)

For the next 55 minutes, Clinton took questions, and, in wonky professor mode, answered them in overwhelming detail. In talking about No Child Left Behind he went slightly off the reservation, saying that the law is "a case of good intentions gone awry. . . . It's easy to bash President Bush, [but] I don't think he meant to mess this up and I know Senator Kennedy didn't mean to mess it up."