General
Obama Won, But…
Mitt Romney let an inexplicable obsession with Benghazi get him slapped down by Candy Crowley and slam-dunked by President Obama, but last night’s debate also showed why Democrats should still worry. Let’s get this straight first: Ignore anybody who tells you these debates don’t matter. They matter big-time. This was America’s first reality-show…
Read MoreThe NY Times and Bill Friday
Several TAPsters took note that the New York Times obituary of Bill Friday focused mostly on the UNC desegregation battle in the 1970s. Martin Hunter of Charlotte wrote that he and his wife “thought that it was pretty slanted to make Friday look like a poorly-educated racist yahoo, who fought the Carter Justice Department…
Read MoreBill Friday’s Secret
In a bitter, polarized political age – and a lifetime of bitter, polarizing political battles – Bill Friday conquered all by heeding the Proverb: “A soft answer turneth away wrath, but a grievous word stirreth up anger.” Look at the battles he fought: The Smith-Graham Senate race in 1950, the basketball point-shaving scandal, cancelling…
Read MoreOdd Facts
The Associated Press reported a pair of odd facts the other day. In a headline the AP reported, “Obama using voter registration to stay close in NC” – then told how President Obama’s massive voter registration drive is helping him win North Carolina – by registering 250,000 new Obama voters. So far, that…
Read MoreYard Signs
Candidates run for office for all kinds of reasons: Foibles. Vanity. A desire to serve. But, whatever their reasons, after they announce they run head-on into an unpleasant fact: Running or office (even a local office like County Commissioner) costs a lot of money and raising money is plain old-fashioned hard work. It has…
Read MoreTurnaround
Could one debate turn the presidential race upside down and give Mitt Romney a comeback win over President Obama? Yes, and there are 67.2 million reasons why. Nielsen says that’s how many people watched last Wednesday’s debate. It was “the highest-rated first election-season debate since 1980.” Of the viewers, 12 million were age 18-34…
Read MoreJim Hunt Redux
Governor Hunt, my old boss, is like a veteran rock band that still rocks. He may be 75, but he’s still on his game. Even Pat McCrory is cozying up to him. Hunt gave a well-received speech at the Democratic Convention. Unlike a lot of speakers, he didn’t promote himself. He’s beyond needing…
Read MoreLet ’em Debate
Jim Lehrer deserves a break. If he made a mistake moderating the presidential debate, it wasn’t that he should have done more to rein in Romney and Obama. He should have done less. The presidential debate, with its free-flowing format, was much more informative than the gubernatorial debate, which stuck to the stiff and…
Read MoreRomney’s Risk
A country lawyer – and conservative Democrat – says Mitt Romney may have made a big mistake in the first debate, despite the quick boost he got. “Whatever you say in your opening argument, you’d better back it up when you present your case,” the lawyer said. To wit: Did Romney lie when…
Read MoreUnder Pat’s Skin
Walter Dalton’s feisty debate performance gave his campaign a spark and got under Pat McCrory’s skin. That’s a weakness that would hurt McCrory in the Governor’s office. If McCrory didn’t like Dalton’s questions and attacks, wait until the media gets after him. And that’s just a matter of time in a media culture that…
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