Posts by Gary Pearce
King of Bain
My friend David Burney (of New Kind and Johnny Folsom Four fame) makes an insightful comment about Mitt Romney’s doomed struggle to separate himself from Bain Capital: “The question as to whether or not he was the active CEO during a specific time when Bain shipped jobs overseas is irrelevant. Romney created a company…
Read MoreAt a Loss for Words
Where was this when I needed it? TheNew York Times reports that the Obama and Romney campaigns are insisting on the power to review and edit their quotes before journalists can use them. And news outlets go along, including the Times, Bloomberg, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair and Reuters. The story says: “The…
Read MoreRomney’s ‘Retroactive Retirement’
Of all the ridiculous political-spin phrases ever, this one is up there with John Kerry’s “I voted for it before I voted against it.” It came Sunday from senior Mitt Romney campaign adviser Ed Gillespie. He was trying to spin his way through CNN’s “State of the Union.” Specifically, he was insisting that Romney…
Read MoreRichie Rich Romney
The Obama campaign has drawn blood. For the first time in this campaign, they have their teeth into Mitt Romney. And if he doesn’t escape, his candidacy could bleed to death before he accepts the nomination in Tampa. Two weeks ago, Romney thought he had Obama trapped – by making him the symbol for…
Read MoreBru Cashes In
Sometimes Iâm naïve. I didnât get why Rep. Harold Brubaker was resigning in the middle of his House term. Heâs been in the legislature since Governor O. Max Gardnerâs administration â or something like that. He was Speaker in the 90s. He is one of the most powerful members of the House. His party…
Read MoreConvention Wisdom
The mainstream media is obsessed about potential problems with the Democratic convention in Charlotte. Will labor and liberals protest and boycott? Will Charlotte and the party raise enough money? Was it a good choice in light of Democrats’ problems in North Carolina? Etc., etc. Get real. Nobody is going to cast their vote…
Read MoreFracking Out
Methinks the fracking freakout by Democrats is overwrought and overdone. And Becky Carney need not contemplate hari-kari. Maybe it’s age. Or maybe it’s that for too many years I’ve heard too many dire warnings about how some legislative action is certain to lead to environmental devastation. It never does. And every time something…
Read MoreLeBron Obama
President Obama is the LeBron James of politics. No one else in the game inspires the same passions – pro and con. No one else has the same political skills. No one else can put as many points on the board – for both sides. For all the talk about Mitt Romney –…
Read MoreJust Tuning In
When you’re running a political campaign, it’s hard to keep your perspective. It’s especially hard to remember that not everybody is paying as much attention as you are. Even worse, the voters who count the most – the truly undecided voters – aren’t paying any attention yet. Harrison Hickman, who was Governor Hunt’s pollster…
Read MoreHuck’s Complaint
Mike Huckabee always struck me as a likeable Republican. So his critique of his party in The New York Times Sunday was striking. He was asked: “Is this different from the party that you know and love?” His answer: “Very much. It’s one of the reasons that I did not think this was…
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