There are more cross currents in the Democratic Presidential primaries than a hurricane. It’s got everything. Race. Sex. Money. Brittany Spears must be next. Let’s – gingerly – explore race. Hispanics vote for Hillary (or, more to the point, against Obama) two to one. Asian-Americans vote for Hillary (and against Obama) eight to one. African-Americans…
Read MoreEven the most secular Democrats fervently await the Second Coming. Of John Kennedy, that is. Barack Obama is the latest in a long line of latter-day JFKs. There were Bobby and Teddy, of course. Also, Gene McCarthy, George McGovern, even Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Joe Biden (1988 model), Bill Clinton and John Kerry (who had…
Read MoreMitt Romney has ‘suspended’ his campaign – which in plain English means he’s struck the flag. Romney out-fundraised, out-spent, out-organized and ran two or three times more ads than any other candidate. But there are campaigns – and candidates – who never find their message. And Romney was one. He was a governor with a…
Read MoreThe News & Observer reports how the candidates for governor are spending their money. Republican Fred Smith led the way spending the most, including $360,000 to publish his book, A Little Extra Effort, $100,000 for Lee Greenwood to write a song about him and $90,000 for barbecue. The second biggest spender, Bill Graham, spent $1.5…
Read MoreMark Johnson writes in today’s N&O and Charlotte Observer that it’s a mathematical certainty North Carolina’s presidential primary will count this year. But that doesn’t mean it will be decisive. Or that all Tar Heel Democrats will be happy about it. Take Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue. Suddenly, their calculus has a big X Factor.…
Read MoreAs CNN’s Jeff Greenfield said so memorably late on Election Night 2000, we have now left the gravitational pull of earth. This presidential race has defied all predictions. Especially the prediction that it would all be over after Super Duper Tsunami Tuesday. Instead, we now boldly go where no race has gone before – or…
Read MoreThree recent developments in the Governor’s race sharpen the perception that Beverly Perdue’s campaign is not in the same league as Richard Moore’s. First was the Perdue debacle over Randy Parton. Then Moore came out against Duke’s Cliffside coal plant. Perdue panicked, then meekly took the same position. (But neither candidate, as The N&O pointed…
Read MoreBob Orr is a smart guy. Even though he’s a Republican. He may be right that North Carolina would be better off with an appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction. But it ain’t gonna happen. The problem is simple. And it simply cannot be overcome: Making the Superintendent appointed requires a constitutional amendment. That means a…
Read MoreThe fall of John Edwards and the rise of John McCain prove that issues don’t matter that much in primary elections. Character counts. Now that Edwards is out, everybody says he drove the Democratic policy debate: poverty, universal health care, global warming and Iraq. He did. And he lost. Look at McCain. On issues, he…
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