By Timothy C. Davis

"Now I know (former Ross Perot-aligned vice-presidential candidate Admiral James Stockdale's) name has become a buzzword in this culture for a doddering old man, but let's look at the record, folks. The guy was the first guy in and the last guy out of Vietnam, a war that many Americans, including our present President did not want to dirty their hands with. The reason he had to turn his hearing aid on at that debate is because those f*****g animals knocked his eardrums out when he wouldn't spill his guts. He teaches philosophy at Stanford University, he's a brilliant, sensitive, courageous man. And yet he committed the one unpardonable sin in our culture: he was bad on television."
-Dennis Miller, 1992

Miller might have angered some folks with this pronouncement at the time - and this was before his full-on Republican coming-out a few years later - but the man was onto something.

Stockdale's gaffe, such as it was, came before the omnipresent instant replay machine that is YouTube. It came before iPods, before iPhones, before DVD screens in car headrests and network-ready video game players and TiVO and MP3 technology, too. It was right around the time when a new concept called the Internet began making the rounds.

These days, all it takes is one person to upload a bit of rare tape, and it's soon shooting across the world. (Ex-) Virginia Senator George Allen called S.R. Sidarth - a camera-wielding shadow operative of his opponent, Jim Webb - a "macaca," a rarely-used slang term. Allen's bully pulpiteering was enough to tilt the election in favor of Webb, who wisely - and quickly - had the offending footage in the hands of blogs, newspapers, and TV shows across the country.

Think you might raise taxes at some point? Don't do like former President George H.W. Bush did, and invite folks to quote-unquote "read my lips." Not sure if you're a spittin' image of John F. Kennedy? Don't mouth off to a wily old political veteran such as would-be Michael Dukakis veep Lloyd Bensen, an old Texan not apt to mince ("Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy!") his words.

Furthering the convergence of the digital and political worlds, there now exist Web-aided debates such as CNN's YouTube debates, which (purport to, at least) take questions from real, live viewers from across the country. CNN's Republican YouTube debate on November 28 attracted some 4.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched debate of this presidential primary season and breaking all records for any primary debate on cable television in the history of the medium. CNN broke its own record with the debate, which it set Nov. 15 with its Democratic debate in Las Vegas. (That broadcast pulled in 4.036 million viewers.)

All of which goes to show just why Myrtle Beach - heck, South Carolina as a whole - can barely contain its giddiness as not one, but two, nationally televised debates [A FOX-sponsored Republican event at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center tonight and a CNN/Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI) Democratic version of same at the Palace Theatre on January 21] are being held here in town.

Compounding the excitement, South Carolina is also the first Southern state to hold its primary elections, a fact which might well prove pivotal in the 2008 U.S. presidential nomination process. On the Republican side of the coin, South Carolina has picked the eventual party nominee in every primary contest since 1980. For Democrats, South Carolina is often an early test of candidates' ability to win votes from black voters, who make up about half the state's Democratic primary voters and usually prove reliable as a sample of larger voting trends. So yes, millions of viewers - perhaps, given the timing and strong interest in this election cycle, the most viewers to watch a pre-primary debate ever - will have their collective eyes focused on the Grand Strand.

While those CNN debate numbers are relatively strong in a cable-TV-centric era providing many disparate methods for folks to get their information/leech their attention, it pales in comparison to the first televised political debate, which was held on September 28, 1960. Some 70 million Americans tuned in to watch Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Vice President Richard Nixon in the first-ever televised presidential debate. The first of four televised "Great Debates" between Kennedy and Nixon (Other debates followed on October 7, 13, and 21), the made-for-TV events changed politics forever.

The Kennedy/Nixon debates were the first real opportunity for folks outside of the Beltway to see two candidates in competition with each other. It was the first real instance of politics as sport in this country. Who can withstand a volley of rhetoric, and then fire off a few rounds of his own? Who looks calm under pressure? Who's got a sense of humor? Who, even if through a cathode ray tube, will look you dead in the eye and tell you what he thinks?

In the '60 debates, the answer was Kennedy. Nixon arrived in a rumpled shirt, disdained makeup, and a work-grey suit that, on most black and white televisions, made him look like a disembodied head floating above a podium. Interestingly, a poll of those who heard the first debate on the radio pronounced Nixon the winner. But the 70 million who watched it overwhelmingly anointed Kennedy the victor.

Seeing might not be believing, but in presidential politics, it doesn't hurt either.

IN OUR OWN BACKYARD

Valerie Hensley, Executive Director of StepUP! Grand Strand, says her organization was first contacted about recruiting volunteers for the debates some months ago.

"Let's back up several months," Hensley says. "When the (two parties) were courting, and trying to secure getting both debates in town, we were contacted by the Chamber of Commerce and its chairman Brad Dean, who asked if we would be interested in coordinating the volunteer efforts. Of course, we were delighted, as that's our mission: to recruit, train and organize volunteers for special events, community projects and non-profit organizations. Basically, anything where a volunteer need is in existence, we try to fulfill that role. Once they eventually secured both debates, our board of directors approved unanimously (our being) the one stop shop, so to speak, for all the volunteer needs. That way we felt we could be completely non-partisan, and fulfill both events, and fulfill our mission, too."

Hensley says that StepUP! has had meetings with the Democrats and Republicans - "team meetings and things of that nature" - but notes that the organization is coordinating all its efforts with the Chamber. So far, she says, the unprecedented, concentrated response to the debates, while somewhat surprising, hasn't been anything insurmountable, and most likely won't prove to be.

"It was a challenge, but I'll be honest with you, this community had an outpouring of interest with this historic event," says Hensley. "I think it's such a timely event - the caucuses are around the corner and the primaries are in the next three weeks - plus this is the last debate where candidates will actually take a stage in front of a public audience. The fact that this will be in our own backyard is very exciting, and the amount of people who want to have a small hand in this is just incredible. We've placed our volunteers, and have actually had to begin dipping into our waiting list. We've either used or contacted right around a 1,000 folks, I'd say."

Those who complete their training might take jobs as community concierges, assemble press kits and gift bags, place signs, or staff various special events.

How the two parties are using these volunteers is another thing entirely. For instance, debate-related activities and special events open to the public are still being finalized for the Democratic debate. All the Republican events are fundraisers, most starting at $50 a head. The respective debates also fall much along the same (party) lines.

"Our office and my communications team are handling all aspects of press credentialing and accommodating international, national and state/local media for the GOP debate," says Rob Godfrey, Communications Director of the SCGOP. "Our Chairman, Katon Dawson, has been the only person who has worked directly with FOX News, national and state GOP officials and the White House candidates to bring this debate to Myrtle Beach."

Hensley concurs. "The Republican Party is handling all their volunteers. We did the recruitment, of course, but the GOP in Columbia is handling the training, the scheduling, the management, and the volunteering in general. With the Democratic Party, they have a contract with the CBCI. So the Chamber, essentially is handling everything: pre-debate, during-debate, and post-debate. Of course, the Democrat's debate is by invitation only, and with the Republican debate you need to purchase a ticket. They're both similar into what goes into putting them on, but they diverge widely from there."

ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET

Nancy Gray, the Chamber's Media Communication Manager, said like any town readying for its close-up, challenges exist: namely, logistics, an extraordinary attention to detail, security, and handling so many volunteers. She notes, however, that the area's resort/vacation destination status allows Myrtle Beach to shine via some unique qualities other
areas our size might have a hard time producing. For instance, the availability of a large number of open hotel rooms, transportation, a large retiree volunteer army, and strong support from the entertainment and restaurant communities.

The Myrtle Beach City Council, lead by Councilman Phil Render, passed a resolution back in February "encouraging the leaders of the major political parties to consider the greater Myrtle Beach area as a destination for political debates and campaign visits during the 2008 presidential election season." The city then sent the unanimously-passed resolution to party leaders and representatives in Columbia and Washington, D.C. inviting them to visit.

According to Gray, the Chamber began its pitch in the spring of 2007, promoting Myrtle Beach to the SCGOP and the CBCI with a 50-plus page briefing booklet, highlighting venues, attractions, dining, accommodations, and more. Both groups then began clandestine "scouting" visits to places including the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, the Palace Theatre, and the Myrtle Beach Marriott at Grande Dunes. A small group of chamber staff attended the presidential debate in Charleston on July 23 to experience the even first-hand. In September and October, television networks FOX News and CNN conducted feasibility visits to determine the technological logistics of whether or not facilities were up to snuff.

Despite getting something of a late start, the Republicans were able to announce their debate first (August 23), tapping the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for its South Carolina Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate on Jan. 10, just nine days before the "First in the South" Republican primary on Jan. 19. South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Dawson hand-delivered letters to a giddy Chamber and city of Myrtle Beach, announcing the party's decision.

The CBCI, through board member and Congressman Jim Clyburn (D), announced on Oct. 5 that Myrtle Beach's Palace Theatre would be the site of its January debate. The Congressional Black Caucus Institute Democratic Presidential Primary Debate was originally scheduled for Jan. 17, but was rescheduled to Jan. 21 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday) when the SCDP confirmed the primary for Jan. 26.

In preparation for the debates, a group of chamber and city staff visited the debate sites in Charleston (The Citadel), Orangeburg (South Carolina State University's MLK Auditorium) and Columbia (University of South Carolina's Koger Center for the Arts) in November. Members of the delegation were able to learn from organizers of the previous South Carolina debates as well as toured the debate sites themselves.

The Congressional Black Caucus Institute Democratic Presidential Primary Debate will be the last Democratic debate before South Carolina votes on a presidential nominee, which is something that, along with the strong interest in the Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses, Dems hope will help boost turnout. Clyburn, a member of the U.S. House as well as the House Majority Whip for the 110th Congress told Weekly Surge back in April that he feels that any debates held in Myrtle Beach will affect local elections, and perhaps boost interest and turnout.

"I'm all about what we can do to make our state a better place for all of our people. And I am really hopeful that when all is said and done, the debates help that. And that's why, you may recall, I have said South Carolina would do well to try and put in place an area similar to that they have up there in New Hampshire, a permanent thing. If we could put in place a "First in the South" primary, and make it a part of our overall tourism strategy, I believe that you could make January a big month in South Carolina. It would be a boon at a very slow time of the year. That could definitely happen. Whatever I can do for the coastal part of our state, that will further our tourism industry, I'm going to do."

The same goes for the Chamber, Gray says, noting that the city is also providing training for taxi cab drivers, who must agree to attend short training sessions to go over hospitality tips and potential routes from airport Myrtle Beach. For out of town journalists, the chamber and the SCGOP have arranged discounted chartered air service for journalists departing from New Hampshire. Some 500 to 800 media are expected to attend each event, Gray says, and some 50 to 60 satellite trucks.

Recently, the chamber has launched www.myrtlebeachpresidentialdebates.com as a portal site for www.scgopmyrtlebeachdebate.com and www.cbcimyrtlebeachde-bate.com. If you've been driving around town recently, you may have seen one of the many billboards the Chamber has enlisted to greet presidential candidates to our fair burgh, or caught a number of new radio spots.

After each debate, welcome desks will be set up at the venues and attractions around town, including the Myrtle Beach International Airport, Broadway at the Beach, Myrtle Beach Marriott at Grande Dunes, the Myrtle Beach Sheraton Convention Center Hotel and others.

Finally, in what is a Myrtle Beach touch in more ways than one, the chamber says some 350 tons of sand will be sculpted into on-site busts of the presidential candidates for both debates. The one created for the Republican Presidential candidates debate, across the street from the convention center, is attracting considerable interest.

Perhaps it's a fitting tribute, though.

To many South Carolinians, sand and presidential hopefuls have one big thing in common: most of them seem to shift constantly with whatever the prevailing winds are.