"I'm immensely proud of the Obama campaign and my role in it. I supported him because I believe that he is uniquely qualified to change the way we're doing business in Washington. He, in my judgment, is a once-in-a-generation candidate. He's the John F. Kennedy of our generation. I've been immensely proud of what Barack Obama has done, not only in South Carolina but around the country.

For each generation that passes, I think the issue of race is less prevalent. I was in the seventh grade when schools were integrated here in South Carolina, and I compare the feelings of my parents' generation to the feelings of my children about issues of race.

I think we've come a long way in the South, but we still have a long way to go. The Obama campaign brings some of those issues to the forefront. I've been surprised and pleased in the number of white South Carolinians who have taken immense pride in the fact that the South, and particularly South Carolina, could play a pivotal role in allowing Barack Obama to move toward the Democratic nomination for president, and indeed, being our first African-American president."