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."

Frist in SC but doesn't sound like candidate

The State's Lee Bandy Sunday wrote that U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., was in South Carolina over the weekend, but didn't much sound like a presidential candidate at a meeting of the GOP state executive committee.

The Tennessee Republican came and went almost unnoticed — which apparently was the way he wanted it. There was little advance publicity and virtually no media.

Frist said the 2006 midterm elections would be tough for Republicans, but would be successful because they formed the "party of ideas."

“Yes, this is going to be a tough election,” he said. “But it’s not impossible. We’re going to do it because we’re ready. We’re going to do it because we know how. We’re going to do it because the same values that you have in South Carolina are the same values that I see in Tennessee.”

Then came the kicker.

“So, I’m here to join arms with you. That’s the only reason I’m here on this trip.”

Huckabee speaks in Charleston, York counties

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke Thursday to Republican conventions in Charleston and York counties in another visit to the Palmetto State. According to the Associated Press:

He told Republicans in York County that he is anti-tax and anti-abortion, The (Rock Hill) Herald reported.

"The Republican Party represents what people want," Huckabee said. "If you believe that life doesn't matter, vote for the Democrat."

The Charlotte Observer wondered whether South Carolina's 2008 primary would be "make or break" for Huckabee.

And in Charleston, two local candidates - - former Congressman Arthur Ravenel, who said he'd run for school board, and Paul Thurmond, son of the late Strom Thurmond -- stole the show from everyone, including Huckabee, according to The Post and Courier.