Whose Credibility?

Russian tanks rolled into Georgia and the earth moved on its axis so President Bush scowled real mean at Vladimir Putin during the Olympics then dispatched Condi Rice to give Putin his comeuppance. She didn’t scowl, she sniffed, and said, “The Russians are losing their credibility.” Credibility, I’d say, is just what the Russians are…

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Be Like Terry?

A spirited debate broke out at a book club this week about Bev Perdue’s vote to keep illegal immigrants out of the community colleges. A craven cave-in, fumed one (now-ex) Bev supporter. “I may as well vote for Pat McCrory.” Hold on, a still-strong supporter of Bev weighed in: “Don’t you agree that immigrants would…

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Keystone Kops

Let’s forget about who first slept with whom when and whether they stopped two years ago or last month – and talk about John Edwards’ sheer incompetence. How on earth did he get struck so dumb he convinced himself he could keep a blonde in the closet for two years – with every other political…

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‘Dumpling’

Last night, right in the middle of a debate that would put an amphetamine junkie to sleep, there was a flash of near-clairvoyant revelation. Beverly ‘Dumpling’ Perdue (don’t blame me for the nickname; it’s what Mark and Tony and the boys over in the Senate have been calling her for years) and the gnomes over…

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Obama’s Veep

I’d pick Hillary. I know all the reasons why Obama shouldn’t and probably won’t. Here is why he should: It’s the only choice that genuinely shakes up the race. And Obama needs to shake it up. It will electrify the convention. It will stump McCain and the Republicans. It will show that Obama is strong…

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McCain-Nixon in ’08?

John McCain’s real running mate this year will be Richard Nixon – or, to be precise, the strategy that Nixon pioneered for Republicans in 1972: Make your opponent unacceptable to the Silent Majority. That’s the attack McCain’s Karl Rove-trained team has leveled against Barack Obama for weeks now. It is taking hold. Thirty-six years ago,…

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Edwards Vs. the N&O

The tension between John Edwards and The News & Observer goes back to the 1998 Senate race. During that campaign, John and Elizabeth – along with some of their Washington consultants and gung-ho young staffers – believed the N&O was treating them unfairly. They decided somebody should storm down to the paper’s offices, confront the…

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Flaky to Boot

There are times you just have to look at some of today’s politicians and shake your head and wonder, What on earth was that fool thinking? Two short breaths ago, Beverly Perdue told WRAL-TV (6-18-08) she was adamantly “100% opposed” to offshore drilling. Then, taking another breath, she bluntly told the Charlotte Observer (7-19-08), “On…

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The Verdict Is In

John Drescher’s letter to readers in today’s N&O makes it clear that John Edwards’ “confession” was a spectacular failure. Drescher, the executive editor, wrote to defend his paper’s coverage. But he concluded with this ominous note for Edwards: “Questions remain about who is the father of Hunter’s baby and whether Edwards knew about payments to…

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A Catch-22 for Obama

There are two race cards. One is a no-holds-barred, two-fisted, blunt-edged appeal to race that’s hardly ever seen anymore. These days only a desperate politician, or one bent on suicide, plays that race card. The other race card is more subtle. It can be as simple as a candidate having a campaign slogan like, “He’s…

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