The first shots of the civil war were fired in South Carolina. The confederate flag still flies over the state capital. Hence, it's small wonder that on Saturday the Republicans in South Carolina made Newt Gingrich the winner of the presidential primary. Gingrich won the primary with a blatant appeal to racist instincts and lots of people in South Carolina liked that. Lots of folks in this country have never gotten over the fact that a black man is president. Too sad for words.