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Title: Greene now keen on White House run
Source:
TheSunNews.com
URL Source: http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/11/1 ... ne-now-keen-on-white-house.htm
Published: Nov 17, 2010
Author: Meg Kinnard
Post Date: 2010-11-17 07:03:32 by James Deffenbach
Keywords: None
Views: 225
Comments: 6
COLUMBIA -- Awaiting a South Carolina court hearing on two obscenity charges, former U.S. Senate hopeful Alvin Greene said Tuesday he's not through with politics and already has his eye on his next pursuit: the White House. "I was born to be president," Greene said, seated in the back row of a courtroom in the Richland County Courthouse in Columbia. "I am the greatest person that ever lived." It was a quirky but seemingly fitting way for the 33-year-old unemployed military veteran to discuss his future. He who had the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate with no money, website or visible campaign in June, and once suggested the creation of action figures in his likeness as a way to spur job creation. At an election night party in his hometown of Manning, Greene and his campaign volunteers showed off a comic book about Greene's life titled, "The Ultimate Warrior." The day after Greene's primary victory, The Associated Press was first to report he'd been arrested the previous year on a felony obscenity charge accusing him of showing pornography to a University of South Carolina student in a campus computer lab. In August, a Richland County jury indicted Greene on a felony charge of disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity, as well as a misdemeanor charge of communicating obscene materials to a person without consent. If convicted, Greene could serve up to three years in prison for the misdemeanor or up to five years for the felony. Campus police allege Greene, a 2000 political science graduate of the university, used an old student ID card to get past dorm security. After a hearing in October, Greene's attorney told the AP his client's actions were a misguided attempt at flirting with the student. Prosecutors said they had expected Greene to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge but learned by voicemail that the deal had been rejected. "At this point, we're switching gears," said prosecutor Andrew Rogers, adding that Greene's first possible trial date is Jan. 17, 2011. "We're gearing up for trial." Greene's attorney, Eleazer Carter, was not at the hearing Tuesday, and his office said he was representing another client in Clarendon County. Greene, who did not comment to reporters after the hearing, has previously handled questions about the allegation in bizarre fashion, shouting "Nooo!" and "Gooo!" at a TV crew who tried to interview him at his home. After his October court appearance, he responded to reporters by repeatedly stating his campaign mantra: "The opponent started the recession!" After learning Greene wanted to take the case to trial, the mother of the student to whom he's accused of showing obscene images said her daughter was still reeling from the November 2009 event. "We paid good money for our daughter to come here to get an education," Susan McCoy said. "We didn't pay for her to come here and be traumatized, and that's exactly what happened." On Tuesday, Greene initially asked bailiffs to remove any reporters from the courtroom and threatened to sue anyone reporting on his case. An hour later, he said: "We don't want the judicial system eliminating a presidential contender." Greene's ability to pay the $10,440 fee to file as a U.S. Senate candidate came into question earlier this year, but state police reviewed his bank records and said he had legitimately saved up to pay that fee. On Tuesday, Greene said he had been told it costs $2,500 to file as a presidential candidate in South Carolina, money that he has already started saving. "Two years ago, I'd have run against Lindsey Graham, but I was a soldier in Korea; I was trapped in Korea," Greene said. "So here we are again, and I'm a presidential contender." In 2008, Democrats charged $2,500 to file as a presidential candidate in South Carolina. That same year, the state Republican Party charged a $35,000 filing fee. In the general election, Greene received more than 350,000 votes and drew a higher percentage of the vote than six Democratic Senate candidates in other states. When asked if he would pursue another Senate bid when U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's term is up in four years, Greene - who turns 35 two months before the 2012 general election, an age at which he would be eligible to become president - said he would focus instead on challenging President Obama in 2012. "President, president, president," Greene said. "I am the greatest individual that ever lived!"
Poster Comment: Never forget, "Demint started the recession." So sayeth Alvin Greene.
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#5. To: James Deffenbach (#0)
He's great comic relief.
Well, he may be comic relief but he is more qualified than Obama. (Which is damning him with faint praise I suppose since Obama isn't qualified at all).
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#6. To: Turtle (#5)
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