Barack Obama returned to Greenwood, South Carolina, today to hold a rally. But this isn’t just any town in South Carolina – it’s the home of Edith Childs. Childs has been a staple in Obama’s stump speech all across Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and beyond. Obama often uses his Greenwood tale to rally voters into believing that one voice can make a difference.

Obama’s kicker can run anywhere from five to more than ten minutes, depending on the level of detail he includes. Usually the senator recounts making a promise to a local Greenwood city council member to come visit her town in exchange for her endorsement. As he describes it, he gets into Greenville late after a long day of campaigning. A staffer taps his shoulder to tell him he has to be ready to go by six am because they have to go to Greenville. He wakes up and is more tired than he was when he went to bed. He reads a bad story about himself in the New York Times. It’s raining. His umbrella breaks. He gets wet. They drive and drive and drive to get to Greenwood - which, according to the senator, might just be in the middle of nowhere. Once he gets there, there are only 20 people who showed up - and they all look rained on and not too happy to see him. As he’s shaking hands, he sees a little, older lady wearing a church hat. “Fired up!” she yells. “Ready to go!” Obama is startled. The chant continues. Obama feels upstaged. She continues chanting and the others join in. Suddenly he starts to feel “fired up and ready to go.” Obama and his staff continue to use the phrase. People pick up on it and make T-shirts and signs. The Wall Street Journal writes a story on Childs. Oprah got “fired up” in South Carolina. It’s a phenomenon.

Obama’s traveling press has heard this story several times a day for months now (and can and sometimes do recite it along with him), so most of us were looking forward to this trip to Greenwood and a chance to meet Childs in person. It lived up to our expectations.

Childs, donned in a purple dress, hat and matching purse, watched Obama’s speech in a reserved seat in the gymnasium on the campus of Greenwood’s Lander University, politely clapping at applause lines. As the senator began the story, she stood just off stage, laughing. Senator Obama called her on stage, and, well, take a look:

done

Following the event, Childs was swarmed by the press corps. She was asked about her thoughts on race, religion, and even Hillary Clinton. She also corrected a couple of factual mistakes in Obama’s story. There were, in fact, 38 people who turned out to see him - not 20. And, more importantly, she is not in her 60s as Obama describes her. She’s only 59. “But that’s OK. Men can’t tell age, OK? So that’s OK - just like they can’t tell weight!”