State too dangerous for Obamas, but then nobody's voting

From the Secret Service and one of our own congressmen: South Carolina is too dangerous for First Lady Michelle Obama to visit.

H'mm. This is especially interesting because Barack Obama spent time in Charleston during his campaign and said he loved the town.

Oh, that's right. The pursuit of votes supersedes all safety issues.

But not only does the Secret Service say the state is dangerous, but so does Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from this state. Clyburn cites the attitudes of people here in the Palmetto State.

OK, we do have quite a few people here who are ticked off at the government. A good share of folks who made the scene at Tea Parties and (when you could find one that was open to the public) Town Hall meetings. But that's not a South Carolina thing; that's nationwide.

And we've got our share of craziness in this state, between congressmen who shout "you lie" during joint sessions of Congress, an Appalachian Trail-hiking governor, and numbers that call South Carolina one of the most dangerous, worst-educated states in the Union.

Oh, yeah. There's the issue of the Confederate Flag by the state house, and the ongoing NAACP boycott of the state. But again, none of this stopped the Obamas from visiting last year.

But nobody's voting now.

This cynical move underscores politics at its worst. Joe Candidate shows up at your door, seeking your vote. Then says thanks, and you never see him again until it's time for another vote. And the Obama Administration just took that tack.

You don't think this advice has anything to do with the fact Obama didn't carry the state? He has proven he doesn't much care for dissent, and his Chicago political heritage is one of rewarding your friends and ignoring -- or even penalizing -- your enemies.

There are a lot of other places that should be too dangerous for the First Lady:

- Texas (which McCain carried) has more guns than a lot of countries.

- California (which Obama carried) has more crazy people than anybody.

- Mississippi (which McCain carried) is the one state that South Carolinians thank God for; without that state we'd be dead last in a lot of quality-of-life rankings.

- Nevada (a McCain state) is a place where people come in but never leave, especially if you spend too much time in the casinos. I've known a few people who visited, blew their grubstake, and ended up working in a casino to recoup.

- Then there's Chicago. The most grim place I've ever seen, and O'Hare Airport is another one of those places where you can visit and never leave. Oh, the Obamas are from Chicago? Whoops ...

There are a few places the Obamas can safely avoid right now, and who cares? Nobody's voting now.