Haley’s thin record leaves little leadership hope

JUNE 18, 2010 – - The really bitter irony of the June 8 elections is that the angry people who voted for Nikki Haley as the GOP’s choice for governor are in for a big shock one day: Instead of being a change, she represents more of the same. The hyper-ambitious Haley is little more than Mark Sanford in drag.

New SC poll still has us scratching our heads

MAY 31, 2010 – With about a week before the primaries, a new InsiderAdvantage/ Statehouse Report poll still has us flummoxed.

The poll, taken the night following the May 25 headline-grabbing accusations that GOP Rep. Nikki Haley had an extramarital affair with a blogger in 2007, showed voters still preferred her over three male opponents. Of the respondents who said they would vote in the Republican primary, just over 30 percent said they’d cast ballots for Haley, compared to 20 percent for Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and 14 percent each for U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and Attorney General Henry McMaster.

Barbecue should be state’s official meat

South Carolina seems to have an official everything – other than a state meat. It’s time for barbecue to be the state’s official meat.

New Spoloto poster: Yuck

I like to paint. I like art. I like modern art a lot. I even like odd conceptual modern art. But I am befuddled by the newly unveiled poster for the 2010 Spoleto Festival USA, slated to begin at the end of the month in Charleston. The world-renowned festival and world-renowned artist it commissioned have thrust something into the public domain that doesn’t seem worth the paper on which it is printed.

1st district candidates sound mostly like cardboard cutouts

MAY 3, 2010 – With more than a dozen candidates running to replace grizzled and crusty U.S. Rep. Henry Brown in the First Congressional District, it seemed like a good time to try to make some sense of the election. …