Just as he did this week in New Hampshire, Bush will wait until two days after the Democrats have cleared out. The official reason for his trip is to discuss his anti-terrorism agenda.

As in New Hampshire, South Carolina is a state where residents have heard weeks of bitter criticism of Bush.

At the Democratic debate in Greenville on Thursday, for instance, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina said, "A president has to be able to walk and chew chewing gum at the same time." He was arguing that Bush has concentrated on the war on terrorism at the expense of domestic needs.

Bush easily won South Carolina in 2000.

It is also a state where Edwards is expected to run strong, and many White House officials believe Edwards could be a tough challenger to Bush because of the Democrat's appeal in the South.