In a meeting with The Post and Courier editorial board Monday, Jackson said he expects supporters from around South Carolina to take part in the rally that will include a march through the streets of Columbia.

Voter registration, a national fair trade policy, saving families, jobs, worker rights and preserving Charleston's bus system will be among the themes of the rally that's designed to link disenfranchised voters, black and white. Most of the themes have been embraced by the nine Democratic hopefuls.

"The messages remain registration, reconciliation and turnout," Jackson said Monday, adding, "Rallies are born of situations and need."

Although plans are still being worked out, bringing potentially thousands of people together in Columbia just hours before the state's first-in-the-South presidential primary could have a dramatic impact on turnout. The state should be in the middle of a media frenzy by then, with the national press corps and TV trucks descending to cover an election expected to draw a large black turnout.

It hasn't been determined whether candidates will be allowed to speak at the rally, Jackson said, adding that he probably will make a presidential endorsement before Feb. 3.

Jackson's son, Jesse Jackson Jr., a U.S. representative from Illinois, already has endorsed Howard Dean.

One disappointing factor in the Democrats' conduct so far, Jackson said, is how the candidates, particularly Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, have taken to beating each other up, with Dean the primary target. He called it "Mad Dean Disease."

Jackson said the rally's purpose isn't so much to pressure the nine Democrats running for president as it is to highlight the state's power structure, including the plight of South Carolinians who have been left out of the recovery pushed by President Bush and those in charge of South Carolina state government.

Through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Jackson said he wants to continue a program of voter registration throughout the year. Black voter participation has increased steadily in recent South Carolina elections, including the 2002 statewide races where nearly 285,000 blacks went to the polls, a record turnout for a non-presidential election year.

South Carolina has more than 815,700 blacks who are 18 and older, according to the 2000 Census. That means hundreds of thousands still aren't voting.

Although it is too late to register for the Feb. 3 primary, registration is still open for those who want to take part in the June primaries and the November election, which includes picking a new U.S. senator.

Jackson said the disenfranchised can create an effective voting bloc, based on the notion that they can "build coalitions of shared interests." That includes Georgetown Steel workers who lost their jobs when the plant closed and those who are in jeopardy of losing their ride to work if Charleston's CARTA bus system shuts down, he said.

"South Carolina can set the agenda for the nation," he said.

Details on the rally will be announced later, but Jackson said he envisioned buses carrying participants from around the state to Columbia that day.

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