Carolinians felt that he would be plagiarizing from Strom Thurmond (It's funny 'cause you are finished)

"For McCain in South Carolina -- vindication. In 2000, everybody remembers he won New Hampshire against George W. Bush. And then when he went down to South Carolina, it was all kinds of negative campaigning that said that McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child, and George W. Bush ended up winning that race down there because of that story. Because if McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child, South Carolinians felt that he would be plagiarizing from Strom Thurmond, and they didn't think that was right. 

McCain did win the race, Huckabee came in a close second, and former Senator Fred Thompson came in third. Now Thompson is from Tennessee. It was very disappointing. He was putting all his eggs in South Carolina. One imagines that once he found out he had lost, he would give a dignified concession speech and bow out of the race with class [on screen: Thompson laughing and saying, 'Well, it may be a little early to declare victory, I'm not sure']. It's funny 'cause you are finished." --Jon Stewart