Monday Madame Governor signed a spate of executive orders and it’s time for the Republicans in the House and Senate to strap on their shields and bucklers and have at it. They’re supposed to be the loyal opposition and this session they would be wise to take the job seriously. For instance, not long ago,…
Read MoreNot to compare Bev Perdue with Rod Blagoyevich, but both have shown how the sudden power of the executive branch can frustrate the legislative branch. Blagoyevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to Barack Obama’s Senate seat was a stroke of evil genius. The already-arrested, to-be-indicted and probably to-be-removed-from-office governor flummoxed the President-elect, the United States Senate,…
Read MoreIt was hard, personally, not to like Mike Easley – at times Easley showed a lack of pretension rare in governors which, by most reports, made him immanently likeable. But he also showed a void of interest when it came to the workings of his own government that the word ‘detached’ doesn’t begin to cover.…
Read MoreWith the unfortunate exception of Jesse Helms, no U.S. Senator from North Carolina has won reelection since Sam Ervin (1956, 1962 and 1968). Kay Hagan needs to keep that sobering fact in mind. Unfortunately, some of her public statements give one pause about her prospects. Like her victory speech Election Night, which was needlessly nyah-nyah…
Read MoreGiven the criticism of her campaign performances, Bev Perdue gave a surprisingly good inaugural speech. As a connoisseur of inaugural speeches â and the co-author of several â I give her a B. She largely avoided the common mistake of âvision strain:â trying too hard to sound lofty. Her speech was clear, short and simple.…
Read MoreMike Easley’s record is like what was said about Wagner’s music: It’s better than it sounds. I’ve never been close to the Governor. I worked for Dennis Wicker in 2000. Even worse, I worked forever for Jim Hunt, and Easley clearly didn’t like being compared to Hunt. And I’ve been critical of the Governor. Mainly…
Read MoreA wise and frequent reader of this blog (but I repeat myself) takes issue with my recent advice to the N&O’s John Drescher re his public disagreements with Governor Easley. The reader writes: “I disagree on the effectiveness of saying, ‘We stand by the story.’ That’s the editor’s equivalent of ‘No comment.’ If it ever…
Read MoreAs she moved ever closer to achieving her dream of becoming Governor, Bev Perdue suffered from what George Bush called – in another context and in a line he surely didn’t understand – “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” Maybe it was because she’s a woman. Maybe it was her reputation as ambitious, a demanding…
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