Obama in South Carolina - "not the old-school street politics"

[Adelante]

Obama reaches deep into S.C.: His political machine could break through the state's longtime barrier to black candidates

-snip

But Benjamin says he chose Obama in part because of his campaign’s focus on reaching voters directly.

He, Clyburn and other South Carolina operatives said Obama is far less dependent than Clinton on traditional conduits of black politics here, the preachers and elected leaders.

“It’s staff- and volunteer-driven, with a huge number of volunteers, not the old-school street politics,” Benjamin said. “He’s challenging the way politics have been done in this state for the last 50 years.”

Dick Harpootlian, a former state Democratic Party chairman who campaigned for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, said Obama’s grass roots machine is the most sophisticated he has seen in 40 years, and it’s one reason he’s backing him.

The campaign boasts seven offices around the state, vs. six for Clinton, and has teams of volunteers contacting potential voters in each of the 46 counties, including several poor, largely black counties that are rarely courted except on election day.

Read entire article:

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/12/23/Worldandnation/Obama_reaches_deep_in.shtml