To the road-weary traveler lodging at Orangeburg's Holiday Inn Express Sunday night, it probably appears like any other hotel Monday morning — fresh coffee is brewing and fellow travelers are pausing to glance at the television before checking out.

Except for the production truck mounted with a satellite dish parked in front of the lobby and a thick black cord winding through a first floor hallway, there are few clues that South Carolina's soon-to-be senior U.S. senator is preparing for a live network television interview from the hotel at Interstate 26 and U.S. 601.

With about 20 minutes before showtime, Sen. Lindsey Graham arrives on scene wearing charcoal pants, a soft light blue shirt with a burgundy tie, and a classic navy jacket; he's relaxed and ready to go.

As the production team seats him to adjust lighting, notably pleased that he's already in makeup, Graham jokes, "There's no amount of light going to make me look good — not in the morning."

After Graham counts to 10 for a sound check, the scrutinizing team notices a runaway piece of hair sticking out. A hasty search for a comb and cup of water ensues, then the hair is tamed and the slow wait continues.

With 9 minutes left, the team checks how to shut off the air conditioner. They want to leave it on for now to avoid sweltering the senator, but closer to airtime, it will be turned off to eliminate any background noise that could disturb the feed.

Crew members inside the room confer with their counterpart manning the outside truck to confirm that the picture is crisp on both ends.

At the 5-minute mark, the room door is officially closed and locked.

As the final 4-1/2 minutes are waiting to tick, the ground rules are reviewed. Cell phones should be turned off except for the production team, who will stay connected with New York staff members while the interview takes place so that necessary adjustments can be made.

Behind Graham and to his right (out of his view), a muted television set shows Katie Couric of the "Today" show interviewing NBC's military analyst Gen. Barry McCaffrey. Graham is next.

The senator double-checks that he's looking straight into the camera. He clears his throat, "stand-by" time is announced and then the interview is off, with greetings to Matt Lauer in New York.

And though Lauer doesn't mention the seat of The T&D Region by name when he introduces Graham, occasionally a tagline pops up on-screen during the 3-minute interview, alerting viewers from where the senator is speaking.

Coordinated by Orangeburg resident Vivian Glover, who is an NBC News producer for the Southeast, the network and freelance team checked into work at 5 a.m. to transform the standard hotel room into the interview backdrop.

It was the job of Dwaine Scott, an NBC News photojournalist from Irmo, to set the stage correctly. Here, the far bed was dismantled, and Graham's chair was set up toward the front of the now empty space. A strategically placed plant and lamp were placed on a bedside table to fill in the background. The props, along with the hotel curtain, helped to frame the picture that was beamed to viewers across the country.

Scott, who has been on the road practically non-stop since January to cover the presidential race, said it is nice to work at home.

For Glover, the commute was even shorter, but the preparation was no less thorough.

"Last night, I didn't sleep," the television veteran said. "I was worried about it."

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