COLUMBIA, SC – It takes a rare political mind to turn being sued into a victory, but that’s exactly what South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster attempted Wednesday afternoon when he responded to a lawsuit filed two days earlier by Craigslist.

The online classified advertising network has asked a federal court to prevent McMaster from taking threatened criminal action in a way Craigslist says is a clear-cut violation of the Communications Decency Act. Under that federal law, Craigslist believes it is among the class of internet service providers who are immune from prosecution for the acts of their users.

McMaster begs to differ. Since May 5, he has rattled increasingly larger sabers at Craigslist, culminating in a May 16 announcement his office would proceed with criminal investigation and possible prosecution of the company and its officers for facilitating sex crimes and distributing pornography.

“The defensive legal action Craigslist has taken against the solicitors and my office is good news,” McMaster trumpeted Wednesday afternoon in a prepared statement. “It shows that Craigslist is taking the matter seriously for the first time.”

In fact, “the matter” already had been settled before McMaster announced the investigation. On May 13, Craigslist removed the “erotic services” listings from the portion of its network that serves South Carolina.

Perhaps news just travels slowly in that part of the Old South.

McMaster did acknowledge the removal of the material in his Wednesday victory announcement. He also took credit for Craigslist’s action, saying his office’s vow to prosecute produced the action that occurred three days before the vow was issued.

“…[O]vernight [Craigslist has] removed the erotic services section from their website, as we asked them to do,” his statement said. “And they are now taking responsibility for the content of their future advertisements…. Unfortunately, we had to inform them of possible state criminal violations concerning their past practices to produce a serious response.

“If they keep their word, this is a victory for law enforcement and for the people of South Carolina.”

Those same people of South Carolina indicated in a Tuesday poll on a popular blog devoted to the Palmetto State that they have more respect for Craigslist than for McMaster’s heavy handed — and significantly temporally displaced — law enforcement efforts.

Regardless, McMaster hasn’t thrown in the towel.

“We trust [Craigslist] will now adhere to the higher standards they have promised,” McMaster noted in the statement. “This office and the law enforcement agencies of South Carolina will continue to monitor the site to make certain that our laws are respected.”

It’s no secret McMaster plans a run for the governor’s office in 2010. Observers of the drama say his motives in the Craigslist kerfuffle are so transparent as to leave him entirely naked. (Which, one might assume, would leave him in violation of the very anti-pornography statutes he seeks to invoke against Craigslist.)

“McMaster doesn’t care about Craigslist,” TechCrunch.com writer Michael Arrington wrote on Wednesday. “But he does care about becoming the governor of South Carolina, and Craigslist is an easy target. He needs the press to see him taking a tough stance on crime, and a faraway but high-profile startup is his meal ticket.

“McMaster’s statement declaring victory came after that lawsuit,” Arrington continued. “And what he’s really doing is running away from a situation that has become a little too hard for him to handle. Craigslist bit back. He’s moving on to easier targets.”

(Image: “The Tale of Sir Robin” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail)