Who Is Alvin Greene and How Did He Win in South Carolina?

Alvin Greene had no job, no campaign war chest and seemingly no chance to win the South Carolina Democratic Senate primary against a former judge and state lawmaker who had nearly $200,000 in campaign funds in the till.

But as they say when the improbable happens in the sporting arena, "That's why they play the game."

The ultimate underdog, Greene toppled favored Vic Rawl, the establishment candidate in Tuesday's primary battle, to become the most unlikely man to run for a Senate seat in America.

Would you like to know more about Greene and his background?

I sure would. But the 32-year-old Army vet doesn't have a website for his campaign, and plugging his name in to YouTube for a snippet of his campaign rhetoric yields little.

A short clip of Greene with a reporter is embarrassing. The reporter asks for a picture of Greene in his U.S. Army uniform. Greene bumbles around his crowded den and supplies a picture of himself as a toddler and proudly shows off his bronzed baby shoes (see below).

Other glimpses of the man taken from recent articles and interviews leaves one wondering exactly how he won.

A story in the State newspaper of Columbia features the South Carolina Democratic party asking Greene to withdraw from the race, because he is facing a felony charge.

According to the story, Greene was arrested and charged with showing "obscene" Internet pictures to a University of South Carolina student.

Geez!

Greene replied that he is the people's choice and won't quit the race.

Seeing how the outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford conducted business while publicly admitting to an affair with an Argentine temptress, maybe Greene's monkey business with Internet porno is exactly what voters in the Palmetto State have grown comfortable with in their elected officials.

It would be wonderful if I could simply hail a young brother who beat the political odds to turn the political establishment on its ear, but something seems a little off here.

What were supporters voting for? How did he get his message out, especially without money to advertise and no website to share his vision of good government.

It doesn't even seem that Greene has it within himself to deliver a stirring speech that might sway voters. Political observers have said he frequently trips over his words and repeats himself incessantly, when answering routine reporter's queries.

Some factions of Democrats in South Carolina have gone as far as to say that Greene's candidacy was a plant by Republicans, seeking to force the opposition to field a candidate who voters will reject in the general election.

That's pretty harsh but does make you think.

Despite my concerns, I congratulate Greene on his unbelievable win and wish him luck. He's going to need it.

The national news media and voter spotlight is going to get very hot for Greene as he seeks one of the most powerful political offices in the nation, a U.S. Senate seat.

I'd offer him just two pieces of advice: get a website and stay off of the adult websites at least until the election is over.