Posts by Gary Pearce
A Formidable Opponent
President Obama showed anew Wednesday night why he got elected – and why he remains the dominant political talent in America today. His speech was masterful. His tone was perfect. And he smilingly skewered a range of targets – Republicans, Democrats, Supreme Court, big banks, you name it. But his positioning was even…
Read MorePrime Time Player?
Once you get past the dishing about Sarah Palin, John Edwards, et al in the book Game Change, you learn a few things. Like about President Obama. That he’s like a basketball player who wants the ball when the game is on line. That he has supreme confidence he can rise to…
Read MoreBrad, Bernie and the Banks
Congressman Brad Miller is never the happiest of warriors. But this year could raise his angst to new levels. Miller worries in the Greensboro News & Record that – thanks to the Supreme Court’s corporate-campaign ruling – he might be the target of bank-sponsored attacks. “I’ve made a real nuisance of myself to…
Read MoreObama Resets
Team Obama has a 1-1 record. They won the 2008 campaign, and they lost the 2009 campaign. Now they’re resetting for the 2010 tie-breaker. One step is organizational, and another is rhetorical. Organization: They brought back 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe to oversee the 2010 elections. The lesson Team Obama took from Massachusetts…
Read MoreCongressional Malpractice
President Obama made exactly the opposite mistake from Bill and Hillary Clinton on health-care reform. The Clintons drew up a sweeping reform plan in secret, then sent it to Congress, where it died. Obama let congressional Democrats come up with a reform plan. The first time it went to the voters, they voted…
Read MoreFall of the Mighty
I’d give the front page of today’s N&O to any young person who aspires to go into politics. Ruffin Poole, the “little Governor,” gets indicted on 51 counts of corruption. Poole was Mike Easley’s “go-to guy.” Now he’s the guy the feds go to to get Easley. John Edwards confesses, says he’s…
Read MoreThe Parent Trap
By now, North Carolinians can be forgiven for denying paternity of everybody involved in the John Edwards affair. Edwards surprised no one by finally admitting he’s the father. At least he beat ex-gofer Andrew Young’s book to the punch. Edwards had the good sense to fess up in a written statement – and…
Read MoreMass Hysteria
The polls hadn’t even closed in Massachusetts when Democrats formed up the requisite firing squad to fix the blame. In truth, there are three factors here. 1. Scott Brown had the greatest gift in politics: an inept and overconfident opponent. Did she really go on vacation in the Caribbean last month? 2.…
Read MoreObama Can’t Lose
Health-care reform may die in Massachusetts today, and Democrats across the country may panic, but a loss in the Senate race won’t be the death blow to the Obama Presidency that Republicans dream of. In fact, Obama wins either way. A Democratic win in Massachusetts guarantees enactment of reform. A Republican win gives him…
Read MoreThe Real Campaign
Nearly 50 years ago, Theodore White wrote a book, The Making of the President, that changed how campaigns are covered. Now Mark Halperin and John Heilemann have revolutionized the genre again with Game Change – in a way that says a lot about today’s politics, communications and culture. White told the inside story…
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