Barack Obama swept to victory here in South Carolina, giving this once-red state a purple hue. Over 520,000 people voted tonight in the Democratic primary - walloping the turnout of 440,000 voters in last week's Republican primary. Barack Obama earned more votes tonight than were cast for all candidates combined in the 2004 Democratic primary.
By winning a Southern state by an overwhelming margin, in the face of opposition from the venerable establishment, a populist native son (John Edwards), the longtime favorite (Senator Clinton), and the former President of the United States (Bill Clinton), Barack Obama earned a historic victory.
While much was made of the race and gender politics this week, it was Obama's investment in young people that helped win the day. With the establishment supporting Clinton, Obama had to build his own grassroots army. He found willing recruits among young people.
We discussed this yesterday at an inspiring campaign boot camp for about 50 aspiring leaders at South Carolina Democratic Party HQ. When Palmetto State native son Donnie Fowler and I talked about how Democrats utilized house meetings to win Congress in 2006, we were told that the Obama campaign had introduced a house meeting strategy to South Carolina in 2007. They worked across the state, encouraging people to bring friends together, watch a DVD, and discuss the candidate's position on the issues. They used new technology to text their friends and mobilize online social networks. Recruiting volunteers through volunteers was bottom-up management that worked, propelling Obama to victory and driving the largest Democratic primary turnout in South Carolina history. For the next 8 months, state chair Carol Fowler and her team will be harnessing this positive new energy for change into support for the Democratic ticket up and down the ballot, driving the national vote for change.
Going forward to Super Tuesday, let's hope all campaigns will ride the energy of turning palmetto purple. Take a lesson from House Democratic Whip James Clyburn and "chill." Tell those surrogates to halt; to put aside the politics of personal destruction and lift up the aspirations of the American people. Inspire young and young-at-heart people to leadership roles in your campaigns. Don't drive us to cynicism - invest in our power to shape the future. Our cell phones are on - we're waiting for your text.