Brett Banter

Remember Alvin Greene? Sure you do. He was the guy you never heard from the place you've never been who somehow won the U.S. Senate nomination from the Democratic Party. There were cries of voter fraud and he being a Republican decoy, but those soon fell aside after it was proven Greene used his own money to file for his candidacy and there was no vote tampering. There also is those pesky criminal charges out there, but that hasn't stopped anyone else's campaign in the past decade.

Greene soon became a human soundbite with his somewhat non-sensical ramblings punctuated with "ums" all the time. He was often shown wearing a T-shirt and jeans and not in the way that Republican candidates like to wear T-shirts and jeans to events to show they are the common man. Greene really is the common man. Or was the common man.

The new Greene was unveiled this weekend at his first political rally. Speaking at the Manning chapter of the NAACP, Greene wore a crisp blue suit, shook hands, signed autographs and refused to speak to the press. He was ushered away with a police escort after the event. It seems like someone has gotten serious about Alvin Greene's candidacy. He is now acting like a regular candidate with an entourage. It appears South Carolina's opportunity to support the common man has been corrupted.

The big question about this Senate race is would anyone being paying attention in there was no Greene? This is a great lesson in the fundamentals of media and public relations.