“We live in fictitious times.” These were the words uttered by Michael Moore when he won the Oscar for best documentary in 2003. Now I’ll be the first to admit that Mr. Moore’s opinions can be somewhat skewed, but the line did get me thinking about what I considered to be fact or fiction in this election year, so I compiled a list (admittedly, from my perspective) of illustrations.

Fact: In the state of South Carolina we have been blessed with extraordinary leadership.

South Carolina delegates were afforded the opportunity to attend a brunch honoring Sen. Fritz Hollings. Sen. Hollings has been in public service for 50 years and he is owed, along with the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, a great deal of gratitude by the people of South Carolina.

Also in attendance were Congressmen John Spratt and Jim Clyburn, who are continuing the legacy of selflessness begun by Sen. Hollings.

Fiction: There are no great up-and-coming leaders to continue this great legacy.

This is not true. The Pee Dee currently boasts Sen. Gerald Malloy as one of its rising political stars who is dedicating himself to the region. In addition, candidates such as Steve Wukela are throwing their hat into the arena in an effort to invoke change. These types of individuals will continue to fight for causes that benefit our area.

Fact: The best speaker at Monday’s convention was South Carolina native the Rev. David Alston. South Carolina is home to 415,000 veterans and one of them, the Rev. Alston, did his fellow men and women proud. John Kerry commanded the Swift boat that the reverend was aboard, and his tales of the courage displayed by those onboard moved the crowd as did no other topic. Hearing these tales truly illustrated the difference between the two presidential candidates. Sen. Kerry has received three Purple Hearts for his years of military service whereas President Bush was AWOL for a good period of his National Guard service.

Fiction: Seeing Bill Clinton did not make me reminisce about the eight years of peace and prosperity this country was afforded under his presidency.

How could one not reminisce? The current administration has raided Social Security Trust Funds and made off with $500 billion, eroding our protections for the elderly. The president took this money to pay for his tax program, which affords only a $304 tax cut for the bottom 60 percent of Americans while those making over $1 million a year receive a tax cut of $112,925. Couple that with the fact that since Bush has taken office, a staggering 2.2 million jobs have been lost (16,400 of them in this state) and one can see why it is so darn easy to miss ol’ Bill.

Fact: I like to drop the names of stars we have seen at the parties throughout Boston.

Ben Affleck, Omarosa (she really is a jerk), Andre 3000, Michael Moore, Jon Stewart, James Carville, Jerry Springer, Natalie Portman, Tucker Carlson, Biz Markie, Lauryn Hill - basically, enough stars to fill days’ worth of episodes of E’s Celebrities Uncensored.

Fact: Even though this place is wonderful, there is no greater state in the union than South Carolina.

Again, thanks for reading and allowing me this opportunity.

- Kevin Etheridge, a 28-year-old Darlington native and senior at the University of South Carolina School of Law, is a South Carolina delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Boston this week. He is filing a daily journal to the Morning News about the state’s delegates’ activities in Boston.

Let us know what you think of this story | Send us a letter to the editor