PoliTick-Tock

Clinton: Fight is important in a candidate

Former President Bill Clinton said tonight he liked it better when the Democratic presidential candidates sat down and "cooled off" during Monday's debate in Myrtle Beach, but he also liked to see them fight every once in a while.

Clinton is speaking at Myrtle Beach High School.

He also talked about the economy and his support for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

He praised the other candidates and compared his own presidency with that of President Bush's.

Local lawyer Tommy Brittain introduced Clinton, calling him "the great one."

"At this moment, in lil ole Horry County, we have the hope of the future, a man who with his love and wisdom served us like a Roosevelt or a Kennedy," Brittain said. "Look at him and take heart. He is the Democratic party."

Overflow crowd at Clinton event

The doors have been closed at the cafeteria at Myrtle Beach High School, where former President Bill Clinton is about to speak.

The fire marshall's estimate is that 500 people are in the cafeteria, said Ebony Meeks, a staff member on Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Details of Clinton visit released

Former President Bill Clinton will give his "Solutions for America" speech tonight on behalf of his wife, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, at Myrtle Beach High School.

WHAT | Speech by former President Bill Clinton

WHEN | 8:30 p.m. today.

WHERE | Myrtle Beach High School cafeteria, 3302 Robert M. Grissom Pkwy, Myrtle Beach.

Prior to his Myrtle Beach stop, Clinton will also visit Charleston and Kingstree today.

Former President Bill Clinton to return to MB

The spotlight was on U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton Monday night, and her daughter, Chelsea, was in the audience at the presidential primary debate in Myrtle Beach.

Now her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will return to Myrtle Beach on Wednesday.

It's part of a swing across coastal South Carolina to campaign for the campaign. He'll be in Charleston and Kingstree as well, the campaign announced in a statement.

The campaign did not provide a specific time or location, but said that more details would come out later this afternoon, so check back with PoliTick-Tock.

Update (sort of): Zac Wright, a spokesman with the Clinton campaign, said he does not have more details now. Sorry folks.

Clinton's celeb supporters (Ugly Betty!) attend MB watch party

Four of Hillary Clinton's high-profile supporters will drop by a Myrtle Beach watch party after tonight's debate.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, Ugly Betty star America Ferrera and Amber Tamblyn, star of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Grudge 2, will all attend the party at Liberty Steak House and Brewery at Broadway at the Beach.

WHAT | Hillary Clinton debate watching party

WHERE | Liberty Steak House and Brewery, Broadway at the Beach, 1321 Celebrity Circle.

WHEN| Debate is from 8 to 10 p.m., celebrities to arrive afterward.

CNN relays rules for Dem debate inclusion

It will take a small but swift uptick in the polls and a large push by Nevada voters to get anyone other than former Sen. John Edwards and Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on stage in Myrtle Beach at the Democratic presidential primary debate Monday.

CNN, the network airing the debate, released its criteria for inclusion to The Sun News. The network will invite candidates who have:

• Come in the top three in Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada
• Received 5 percent or more in two national polls taken between Jan. 1 and Jan. 18 by the following groups:
  
  CNN; U.S. News and World Report; New York Times; CBS; Gallup and USA Today/Gallup; NBC/Wall Street Journal; Fox/Opinion Dynamics; Washington Post/ABC; Time Magazine; Newsweek; LA Times/Bloomberg

By those criteria, it would be difficult for Rep. Dennis Kucinich - who has protested after he was left out of previous debates such as the one Tuesday night in Las Vegas - to make it in.

A CBS News poll showed Kucinich at 4 percent in January. American Research Group and NBC both had him averaging 4 percent in December. At the same time, other pollsters had him at an average of 1 percent or 2 percent for December.

The Nevada caucuses are Jan. 19, and Clinton, Edwards and Obama have rounded out the top of the first two contests.

In comparison, the S.C. Republican Party and Fox News said the candidates had to finish in the top five in New Hampshire OR receive 5 percent of a major national poll. The party did not, however, specify which polls those were or when the absolute cutoff time for those polls would be before the debate.

Documentarian in town

Imran Sheikh, a would-be documentarian from Columbia, is here in town following the "passionate, intense, grassroots" Ron Paul campaign.

He said he wanted to make a film about the primaries and was hoping to be embedded with one of the campaigns. Paul's was the only one that would give him access.

He approached most of the others, and was particularly struck by one. "The Clinton campaign is like a Hollywood set," he said.

He wanted to get in on Obama-rama, because after the senator from Illinois won Iowa and the media predicted he'd take new Hampshire, Sheik said he was sure SC would "coronate" Obama. "But they were all wrong," he said.

He's been interested in SC primary politics since the 2000 election when the Bush campaign's push-polling "capitalized on the 'myth'" of Strom Thurmond's illegitimate African American daughter and helped tank John McCain's chances of winning by intimating to voters here that McCain's adopted Bangladeshi daughter was actually his "half-black love child," Sheikh said.

He's planning to produce the documentary himself, and will wrap his filming Jan. 20, the day after the SC GOP primary.

No word on how people will be able to see Sheikh's film.

Hooters having some fun

With all the attention focused on the GOP candidates participating in tonight's debates, at least one local business is trying to get the attention of a prominent Democrat.

The sign in front of Hooter's restaurant at 3901 N. Kings Highway had a special message for Hillary Clinton. It read...

"Hey Hillary Bill is in here"

Upon further investigation, none of the dozen or so patrons enjoying their lunch Thursday afternoon appeared to be the former President, but according to restaurant's general manager Larry Hancock "He's welcome anytime. We'd love to have him."

All jokes aside, Hancock said his idea to put the message up was just a way to show that Hooters is all about having fun and thought it was a clever way to pay homage to today's events.

Clinton campaign chair cancels on Beach Dems

The campaign chairman for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has canceled a scheduled appearance with the Beach Dems breakfast club.

Terry McAuliffe was supposed to speak Friday morning, but had to cancel for logistical reasons, the Clinton campaign said.

Instead, the former assistant secretary of commerce, Ray Vickery, in the Bill Clinton administration will speak at Akel's Family Restaurant.

This is the lastest in a string of cancellations Myrtle Beach has seen in the flurry of political campaigning. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani canceled a campaign appearance  earlier today at a local cafe, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee rescheduled an appearance at a FairTax rally and Sean Hannity canceled an appearance last night at a state Republican party dinner.

What | Ray Vickery, assistant secretary of commerce in the Clinton administration, speaks to Beach Dems
When | 8 a.m. Friday
Where | Akel's Family Restaurant, 6429 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach

Zeppelin campaign shows whole lotta love

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul might travel by plane, but some of his supporters opt for more unconventional means. Several of the candidate's supporters have been flying a 197-foot long blimp around the South with the message, ``Google Ron Paul'' written on the side.

The campaign issued an invitation to several other Democratic and Republican candidates to come out for a ride while the zeppelin is docked in Myrtle Beach for the debate.