FROM THE MOUTHS OF IMMIGRANTS

How do you explain Essie Mae Washington-Williams — the late Strom Thurmond’s daughter with a black maid in his family’s Edgefield home — to a group of people who have known horror and destitution but have little experience with America’s complex racial history?

Turns out it’s not that hard after all.

A group of Columbia’s Somali Bantu refugees celebrated Somali Independence Day on Thursday by cheerfully touring the State House grounds, learning about American history.

They happened by just as “Essie Mae” was being sandblasted into Thurmond’s monument. As they watched, a heated conversation erupted among the Bantu, with one man smirking a little.

Garane Garane, the Allen University professor who serves as their translator and guide to all things American, explained:

“I told them that (Thurmond) was a man of politics. When I told them he had several women, they said, ‘Like everyone!’” (Some Bantu practiced polygamy while living in Africa. They had to forsake that practice when they relocated to America.)

Garane said he had explained to the Bantu that “Americans are fussy about that.”

Then the Bantu wanted to know, “If he’s dead, why do they want the names of the kids on there?”

“It must be about money,” they decided.

CHANGE OF HEART

Two weeks ago, Jim DeMint’s campaign called David Beasley a “flip-flopper,” said he was “wishy-washy” and implied the former governor could not be trusted to hold an opinion.

On Wednesday, the Greenville congressman embraced the former governor’s support for his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

DeMint defeated Beasley in the June 22 Republican Senate runoff. After DeMint’s campaign started running ads criticizing Beasley’s past decisions, Beasley’s campaign accused DeMint of employing personal attacks.

Beasley also had occasional harsh words for DeMint during the campaign. Consider this line about the state’s economic and employment woes that Beasley threw out during a June 21 radio interview:

“Politicians like Jim are sitting back, letting it happen, sticking their head in the sand, acting like nothing’s going wrong.”

But on Wednesday, all was forgiven.

“That’s politics. Water under the bridge,” Beasley said, shortly after fixing a blue DeMint sticker to his suit. “I’m 100 percent for Jim DeMint.”

But why would DeMint want the support of a “wishy-washy flip-flopper?”

“He’s got a lot of supporters, and we need his help,” DeMint said. “We had our differences, but compared to other primaries, it was pretty mild.”

DeMint faces Democrat Inez Tenenbaum Nov. 2.

LOVE IS IN THE GOP AIR

Hilarity was the special of the day at that Republican love-fest.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham got things started when he thanked the assembled crowd for coming and, “Number one, thank you all for not running against me two years ago.”

As Graham got rolling, however, a television reporter trying to adjust a microphone knocked over several other microphones. Standing nearby in a spiffy striped tie, DeMint quipped to Graham, “She didn’t like what you were saying. She pulled a Dick Cheney on us.”

Graham was unfazed, however, and said he looked forward to seeing DeMint become the state’s junior senator.

“Junior senator,” Graham said. “That sounds good.”

DeMint, again quick on the take, shot back: “I’ll have to listen to that for 50 years.”

Also on hand, just to prove there were no hard feelings, was former Gov. David Beasley, whom DeMint defeated in the June 22 runoff.

When Beasley was introduced to sustained applause, the Society Hill native said, “Where was all that support about two weeks ago?”

U.S. REP. JOE WILSON, R-N.D.?

Joe Wilson, who, last time we checked, was a congressman from South (not North) Carolina (not Dakota), got exceedingly mushy last week toward an Air Force base some 1,500 miles to the northwest.

The Republican from Lexington County had the nicest things to say about Grand Forks AFB when he flew to North Dakota, where he stumped for fellow Republican and wannabe congressman Duane Sand.

“This base’s future is very clear homeland security and border security,” Wilson said, according to a report in the Grand Forks Herald. “There could not be a base better situated for this than Grand Forks.”

So, Congressman, what’s Shaw Air Force Base right down the road in Sumter, chopped liver? And what about Charleston AFB? McEntire Air National Guard Station?

“Obviously, our bases are better than all those other bases,” Wilson backpedaled. He explained that he had meant that Grand Forks had been the best base in the nation when it had come to its proximity to Canada.

Also, he added, Grand Forks is in the middle of the Midwest, where the United States needs a base.

Nice save, Joe.

HITTING THE FAX MACHINE RUNNING

Move over, Charlie Condon, there’s a new Fax King in town.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer took over the Bureau of Senior Services, which includes Meals on Wheels. And — at least as far as the Buzz is concerned — he made his presence known.

Not one, not two, but 11 separate news releases announced new grants for Alzheimer’s services around the state Thursday. The Buzz’s fax machine is still overheated.

Bauer has quite a way to go to catch up with the former attorney general, who by one count cranked out more than 500 press releases in a seven-year span.

No count has been done on how many fax machines Condon burned up in the process.