It’s hard not to like Mike Easley. The Governor is personable. Charming. Doesn’t have the vice of taking himself too seriously (unlike most politicians). And has a fine-honed sense of humor. But, oddly, at times, he acts as if he is unusually detached from the government he is running. And, with the latest scandal, it…
Read MoreThe “butterfly effect” of chaos theory – “a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil and a hurricane hits Florida” – applies to politics as well. This year it is the “Tina Fey Effect.” That is, the Democratic presidential race remains unsettled because of the Hollywood writer’s strike. While the writers struck, political comedy on TV…
Read MoreOnce again, Barack Obama had a chance to close the deal last night. Once again, he could not. Just as in New Hampshire and on Super Tuesday, Hillary Clinton stayed alive. Voters in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island weren’t ready to put Obama over the top. Maybe it was the ad about the 3 a.m.…
Read MoreTwo small Under the Dome items in The News & Observer deserve more attention: Richard Moore’s endorsement of Barack Obama – which actually happened last month – and Pat McCrory’s dismissal of his campaign manager – the one who claimed a hacker caused the campaign to spoil its own kickoff by misspelling governor. Inexplicably, the…
Read MoreWilliam F. Buckley, Jr. was an admirable and enjoyable fellow, regardless of his conservative politics. He was a master of words, ideas and wit. He showed that political debate could be friendly, entertaining and yet still penetrating. He lacked the hard-edged meanness that for some reason consumed Jesse Helms, Tom Delay, Newt Gingrich and other…
Read MoreHillary and Bill Clinton have come full circle. Their political ambitions now rest where they started in presidential politics 36 years ago, working in a hopeless campaign for George McGovern in Texas. Ironically, the Clintons might see themselves – although they don’t quite say it – as trying to keep the Democratic Party from making…
Read MoreBarack Obama got a taste this week of what’s coming. The picture of him decked out in Somali gear. The McCain emcee who repeatedly called him “Barack Hussein Obama.” The Louis Farrakhan question at the debate. It’s time for the Obama campaign to strap on the seat belts. It’s going to be a rough ride.…
Read MoreIt seems, or at least appears from reading the newspapers, that each successive generation of Democratic leaders in North Carolina is less concerned about rooting out corruption. Former ‘Governor for Life’ Jim Hunt, not my favorite elected official, may have occasionally tolerated a little bit of what a Tammany Hall politician once called ‘honest graft’…
Read MoreIn the beginning was the word. Senator Barack Obama’s rhetoric has accomplished what we Republicans have failed to do for years. He’s undone Hilary Clinton. It understates Obama’s achievement to simply say his rhetoric is articulate. To a certain, surprising, extent American politicians all oddly seem to sound the same. Sometimes listening to, say, Hillary,…
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