General
Faison’s Social Media
Recently I took a shot at Rep. Bill Faison for taking a shot at Governor Perdue – one that I thought hurt him as much as her. Today – in an effort to be fair and balanced, as they say on Fox – I rise to praise him. Few figures in North Carolina…
Read MoreMitt and Newt?
This is it? This is the best Republicans can do? They’re about to fumble away what should be an open-field run to the White House. Case in point: An NBC/Marist poll this weekend shows President Obama leading both Republicans in South Carolina. I repeat: South Carolina. Maybe Rob Christensen is right and…
Read MoreA Jim Hunt Legacy
There is a big story behind this small item in the paper this week: “North Carolina’s public schools have the largest number of National Board Certified teachers in the nation, according to a release by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.” Nationally, there are 97,291 teachers with National Board Certification. North Carolina has over…
Read MoreMemory Lane
A fan of Tricia Cotham – no doubt looking ahead to a potential Superintendent of Public Instruction primary with Rick Glazier – asks: “When was the last time a male candidate defeated a female in a Democratic primary in North Carolina?” To my recollection – and, as usual, doing no research whatsoever – I…
Read MoreThe Gov’s New Voice
A Tapster is mystified by Governor Perdue’s hiring of a new communications director, Jon Romano: “A governor who is struggling desperately to remain relevant and communicate clearly made another puzzling move this week. “Governor Bev Perdue hired a new communications expert who’s a former Bostonian politico whose only apparent ties to the state…
Read MoreHow Obama Wins
Two reasons: the speech he gave this week and his record. In 2008, Obama had a gift for giving exactly the right speech at exactly the right campaign moment. He did it again yesterday with his speech echoing Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal (Click here for the full text): “I believe that this country…
Read More99 to 1
There’s something almost mystic about the numbers. We call 911 when we’re in trouble. America remembers – and avenges 9/11. Herman Cain had 9-9-9. Now the numbers have a new political significance: the 99 percent and the 1 percent. People who say the Occupy movement had little impact miss how it imprinted…
Read MoreA Lesson from New York
Up north in the land of the Yankees, about a decade ago New York hired Computer Services Corporation to process its Medicaid payments. But there was a hitch, according to the New York State Comptroller: The corporation’s computer system was “so inefficient and unable to detect deception” it’s allowed hundreds of millions in bogus payments.…
Read MorePerdue and Indians
It’s hard to tell whether Governor Perdue’s deal with the Indians proves you can sell a Democratic Governor just about anything by saying it’ll help education or whether it proves our Democratic Governor figures she can sell the rest of us just about anything by saying it’ll help education. Last Tuesday, the Governor announced…
Read MoreFeeling the Pinch
Last week Republicans were chortling over campaign-law indictments of Democrats. Now they’re complaining about a campaign-law probe of Pat McCrory’s 2008 campaign. Welcome to the NFL, and strap on your helmets. From now on, every campaign is going to be under scrutiny for potential violations – not just by the state, but also by…
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