Last fall, defense attorney Tommy Manning did what appeared to be a clever thing. He got a case against his client, a Durham policeman accused of assaulting a short-order cook in the parking lot of Blinko’s Restaurant, dismissed on a technicality. But it turns out Manning wasn’t so clever after all. He told Judge Debra…
Read MoreJohn Edwards finally took a controversial stand on Sunday on George Stephanopoulos’ TV program and it was a doozie. Edwards didn’t put it quite this bluntly, but when Stephanopoulos asked if he supported ‘gay marriage,’ Edwards shook his head and said, ‘Well, I’m just not there yet.’ That was a first for Edwards. For years,…
Read MoreSaddam Hussein got what he deserved. But did America? The hanging scene was disturbing on many levels. The masked hangmen looked like the guys who chop off heads in hostage videos. The shouted curses hardly lent an atmosphere of justice being carried out. And what was the big rush? I’m not bothered by a brutal…
Read MoreJohn Edwards’ presidential announcement last week demonstrated why it’s better to be lucky than smart in politics. The Edwards team had a good strategy: a two-day made-for-TV announcement in New Orleans. And what seemed like good timing: the news-dead week between Christmas and New Year’s. Then Gerald Ford died. And Sadaam Hussein was hanged. And…
Read MoreState Representative George Holmes took $79,000 out of his campaign committee and put it in his pocket. Then, when the Winston-Salem Journal asked why, Holmes dug the hole a little deeper. He said, “Why not? It’s legal. That money was given to me.” Let’s examine his logic. Campaign contributions are not bribes because the money…
Read MorePoliticians aren’t the only ones who know how to ‘spin’ facts. The City of Raleigh is doing a pretty good job too. The headline of its latest newsletter is an example: Officials Approve Increase of Less Than 3 Percent in Convention Center Funding. The city ‘spinners’ made it sound like that little ole’ 3 percent…
Read MoreIn November of 2004, after People Magazine named John Edwards ‘the sexiest politician alive’ and John Kerry lost, I thought Edwards’ fifteen minutes of political fame were over. Instead, he leads Hillary Clinton in two polls in the crucial Iowa Caucus and may be elected President. John Edwards’ campaign is a study of style over…
Read MoreI was dead wrong about the Iraq Study Group. I said the fix was in because Jim Baker was leading the study. I thought the President would wrap his arms around Baker’s proposal and use it for a fig-leaf to get us out of Iraq in short order. Instead the President looked Baker (and company)…
Read MoreGerald Ford proved that a leader’s character can be more important than brains. Right after Richard Nixon proved that brains without character can be dangerous. The TV coverage I’ve seen rightly emphasized Ford’s role as a healer after Watergate. Lord knows, the nation needed it. But a fuller picture needs to be drawn: Even I…
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