It’s come killing time in the presidential race and the Old Admiral’s in trouble – it’s the fourth quarter, he’s behind and he’s got to drive the ball down the field and score, right now, or he’s going to find himself throwing ‘Hail Mary’ passes. We Republicans keep telling ourselves Barack Obama’s not tough enough…
Read MoreI have no inside knowledge of what’s going on inside the Dole campaign. But it looks increasingly like an unhappy and divided campaign. The TV ads are terrible. Loyal Republican Dole even voted against the Wall Street bailout. That’s a sure sign she’s in trouble. Based on some experience with dysfunctional campaigns, I’ll hazard some…
Read MoreTwo straws in the wind: A friend who supported Richard Moore in the primary said last week he’s disappointed that Moore hasn’t done more for Bev Perdue. The McCrory campaign says they are getting support from a lot of former Moore people. One tradition always holds for Democratic gubernatorial candidates: Bitter primaries lead to general…
Read MoreWhen one of my favorite reporters says something nice about my favorite politician, I have to share it. In an interview with the N&O’s Pat Stith on WRAL-TV last week, Bill Leslie reported that Jim Hunt was “the governor and politician Stith admires most.” Stith said of Hunt: “I may have interviewed him six or…
Read MoreNo, I don’t mean “negative” as in negative ads. I mean that this election in North Carolina could be a perfect photographic negative of past elections. Four times in a row, North Carolina voted Republican for President (and in Senate races) and Democratic for Governor. This year the opposite may happen. Why? First there’s a…
Read MoreThe presidential race so far has played out in two-week segments. The last two weeks in August were the national conventions. At the end – until McCain picked Palin – Obama was moving ahead. After Palin, McCain had two good weeks. Then came the financial crisis. In the two weeks since, Obama has taken a…
Read MoreTalking heads pay attention to what candidates say in debates. Voters pay attention to who they are. That is why instant debate analysis often misses what is important – and why it takes time for opinions to jell. Sarah Palin got good instant reviews last week. But she left a bad impression: snarky. She may…
Read MoreA reader of this blog sent this along about last week’s vice presidential debate: Some friends and I played “Palin Bingo” while watching the debate. (Squares said things like, “Pit Bull,” “Terrorism,” and “One Heartbeat Away.”) Between Palin herself and Biden’s stumbles there were a lot of laughs. I guess if you can’t laugh at…
Read MoreCarter made an apt analogy Friday about the presidential race: It’s the fourth quarter, John McCain is two touchdowns behind and he has to score. The race is not over. But if McCain doesn’t change the momentum in the next two weeks, it will be over. So, once again, Mad Bomber McCain has turned the…
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