Biden stumps at Galivants Ferry meeting

More than 2,000 people listened to a keynote speech at the traditional Galivants Ferry stump meeting Monday in Horry County. According to the Associated Press:

Biden kept the crowd of about 2,000 in rapt attention for his 30-minute speech.

Biden said President Bush has made a number of missteps from the war in Iraq to the response to Hurricane Katrina and said Americans are entitled to a “competent government.”

Bush will not be remembered for the mistakes he made, “but for the opportunities he has squandered,” Biden said.

Other stories:

• Democrats convene at Galivants Ferry Stump, Florence Morning News
• 130th year of Stump held Monday, Post and Courier
• Galivants Ferry Stump draws large crowd, The State
• Stump dates back to 1876, The State
• 2000 rally at Galivants Ferry Stump, Myrtle Beach Sun News
• Democrats meet for Galivants Ferry Stump meeting, WIS TV

SC leaders travel to meet with Rudy

State GOP leaders traveled in March to New York to meet with potential presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, according to The State:

The trip was part of the South Carolinians’ search for a consensus presidential candidate for 2008. It was primarily an information-seeking conference for both sides, participants said.

“There were a lot of questions. A lot of interests,” said Warren Tompkins, a Columbia-based political consultant with close ties to the White House. “We talked process, and gave the mayor and his staff the names of people to contact.”

That meeting was followed up by another a week later, attended by former state GOP chairman Barry Wynn of Spartanburg, insurance executive Gayle Averyt and Dr. Eddie Floyd, a Florence surgeon. Wynn and Floyd were state finance co-chairmen of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns.

Vilsack makes it to SC

Potential presidential candidate and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack made his first foray into the Palmetto State over the weekend as the keynote speaker at the state Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson fund-raising dinner. According to The Post and Courier:

Speaking at the annual state Democratic Party fundraiser, Vilsack criticized Republican Gov. Mark Sanford's lack of leadership and the "incompetent" Bush administration. He said South Carolina needs an "education governor" and a "jobs governor." To get that, "you need a new governor in this state," the Democrat said.

Biden says he's in the hunt

U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware, says he's in the hunt for the presidency during a trip through South Carolina this week.

On Wednesday, he toured the Port of Charleston and pushed for better port security, according to the Associated Press:

"The thing we have ignored for five years, port security, has to stop," the Democrat from Delaware said after touring Charleston Harbor and meeting with officials to discuss Operation Seahawk.

Seahawk is a pilot port security project bringing together almost 50 local, state and federal agencies to assess threats that could enter the country through Charleston.

Other stories:

• Biden says Charleston port security operation is national model, WCIV TV
• Biden pushes for enhanced port security, The (Charleston) Post and Courier

On Wednesday, Biden criticized the Bush Administration over Afghanistan at a speech in Columbia, S.C., at the University of South Carolina, according to the Associated Press:

The Bush administration is mistaken if it thinks Iraq is now a legitimate democracy, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden told a crowd at the University of South Carolina on Tuesday.

"Just having elections doesn't make a democracy," Biden said. "It's the second, third, fourth elections."

• Biden said Administration has forgotten about Afghanistan, WIS TV

On Monday in Spartanburg, Biden said he'd run for president, according to the Spartanburg Herald Journal:

In case his speech -- in which he called the Bush administration "dangerously incompetent" -- at the Spartanburg County Democratic Party Convention Monday night didn't tip his hand, he left no doubt afterward.

"My intention is to run," said Biden, 63. "There's a long way to go between here and there, but there's a whole lot at stake."