Although he once flirted with the idea of replacing retiring U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, Columbia Mayor Bob Coble is now mounting a campaign of a different sort.
Coble thinks our capital city has suffered in the eyes of the nation via an image that is invalid in the 21st century. He wants to freshen up the picture the nation has of his city, but not just with cosmetic changes, although many have been made in recent years. Rather he would like the national media who will be in the city for the Feb. 3 Democratic primary to see beyond the cliches to a South Carolina that is more about the New South than the old ways.
Coble readily acknowledges media will be visiting other areas of the state besides Columbia (and since a candidate is from the Upstate we figure a few of the big dogs will be in our neck of the woods). But he wants media to see that the city that is home to state government as well as a major university is more than the Confederate flag and a backdrop for Strom Thurmond’s sins.
So he proposes to spend up to $10,000 of the city’s money to produce a brochure that tells the good news about Columbia to news media. And personally, we think he’s on the right track. He insists it is not a partisan effort and truly, we have to agree, except for the obvious — it’s for the Democratic primary. (But likely plenty of Republicans will vote in it.)
Wisely he has enlisted the help of people who represent both parties. They include Anderson’s John Rainey, the Republican chairman of the state Board of Economic Advisors, and Don Fowler, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, according to published reports. With the money, officials hope to prepare a media guide that gives some of the city’s history and reviews the renewal and renovations in its downtown area in the last few years.
Coble is rolling out the red carpet for visitors. He has also called on Charles Bierbauer, dean of the USC College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, and a former CNN reporter who covered presidential campaigns for more than 15 years to moderate a discussion for reporters. There may be a reception for the media as well, if Coble can raise private dollars to finance it. We hope he will keep in mind however that any good reporter won’t be swayed by a fancy soiree — although free eats are always a big draw.
This first-in-the-South primary is a big deal for our state, but we will be representing the rest of the Southern states to many of those who have never visited the South, much less our home state.
For some of those first-time visitors, they will come with an image perpetuated by bad movies and stand-up comedians, a land of yahoos and racial divisiveness in every corner of every city, every moment of every life.
If we could personally invite some of those national media figures, "Come to South Carolina," we’d say with a deep
bow, "where courtesy and hospitality are as real as our love of good food and family. Come see the variety of life in our state, and don’t miss the Upstate lakes and our view of mountains through a misty morning. Visit with the people in a cafe on Main Street and see that we’re much like you, although perhaps our idioms might make for good copy.
"Our vehicle tags in South Carolina, most of them anyway, proclaim us to be the state of ‘Smiling faces and beautiful places.’ It’s not just a catchy slogan.
"We hope you see more than Charleston as representative of our state, beautiful and charming though it may be. We hope you see us as we are, free of pretense yet just as concerned about education and jobs and the future of this nation as anyone else.
"We’re about more than a flag — other than the one with 50 stars and the one with a palmetto and a crescent moon. We admit we dearly love those two.
"We might speak with an accent you don’t quite understand (and one we will exaggerate if given the chance) but we’re parents and workers and teachers and dreamers, realists and young and old and just like the rest of the country. Give us the chance to prove it."
And then, while they’re leaving, we’ll say, with a straight face, "Y’all come back now, y’heah?" — and mean it.
