Posts by Gary Pearce
Richard Moore Strikes Back
Richard Moore’s reaction to his Forbes hit was fast and aggressive. Beverly Perdue’s campaign needs to wake up. This was much like the Hillary-Obama exchange over David Geffen: an early look at which campaign is on its game and which isn’t. Coverage of the Forbes article clearly hurt Moore, the State Treasurer and would-be Governor.…
Read MoreMoney Chase in the Governor’s Race
Richard Moore is about to become the new “pay to play” poster boy in Raleigh’s campaign-finance scandal. And he was fingered by no less than Forbes magazine, the capitalist tool. Moore – who is North Carolina’s State Treasurer and a 2008 gubernatorial candidate – has raised over $700,000 from investment firms that handle the state’s…
Read MoreThe Democrats’ Horse Race
When Carter assessed Hillary and Obama last week, he identified a key factor in campaigns: the political skills of the candidates and the people around them. The first weeks have shown that Hillary – right now – has the best team when it comes to winning the weekly media wars. But it may not be…
Read MoreThe David Geffen Primary
It may be a sign of the apocalypse that the first real clash in the Democratic presidential race came not over Iraq or universal health care or taxes, but over a multi-million dollar Hollywood producer. Here’s a quick recap for those of you who were following the Anna Nicole Smith story instead: David Geffen, big-time…
Read MoreThe Easley Legacy
Governors and Presidents usually start thinking about their legacies as their terms near the end. Mike Easley should start thinking. Because his legacy is at risk. The Governor has been roundly criticized for not mentioning the Jim Black scandal in his State of the State address. Perhaps he should have begun: “Tonight, members of the…
Read MoreA Black Mark
Robert Penn Warren said it best in All the King’s Men: “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something.” There was something on Jim Black. And, as Warren’s Willie Stark would say, it stuck. So…
Read MoreProgressives Poll on Key Issues
A collection of progressive groups (some even call themselves liberals) says a recent North Carolina poll found strong public support for some of their issues. The poll was done by OnPoint Polling and Research of Raleigh. That’s the group that got the Wake County school bonds vote right last year. The most striking results: More…
Read MoreThe Fall of Jim Black
Jim Black crossed the line – and fell off a cliff. Like too many politicians, Black didn’t see that some old political plays are out of bounds today. North Carolina politics has long been built on friends helping friends, as Rob Christensen pointed out in The News & Observer. But the rules have changed. Some…
Read MoreIs An Apology Necessary?
John Edwards says he was wrong on Iraq. Barack Obama says he was right from the start. So should Hillary Clinton apologize for her vote – along with Edwards’ – to authorize the war? Does she have to say now that she made a mistake then? She is resisting. She says the mistake was Bush’s.…
Read MoreA Smile – Or a Frown?
Barack Obama is out to steal the mantle of optimism from John Edwards. In 2004, Edwards ran with a smile. He positioned himself as the positive, uplifting, optimistic candidate. He has even called his political committee the New American Optimists. But the stagecraft and tone of Obama’s announcement hit the very note that served Edwards…
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