General
Bombs Away!
That old bomber pilot John McCain dropped a blockbuster on both parties this week with his pick of Sarah Palin. He shook the Republicans back to life, and he shook up the Democrats. He also shook up the race. But it will take a while to figure which targets suffered the most collateral damage. If…
Read MoreAn Otherworldly Debut
Watching Sarah Palin’s speech, I could not help but think two things.First, I thought I was watching the rise of a great future star of the Republican Party. She handled herself well, and had a real fire and energy that the ticket previously lacked. Regardless of the outcome of the election, this is someone who…
Read MoreIs Sarcasm a Winning Strategy?
This week’s Time says John McCain’s basic nature is sarcastic. That’s how he often deals with staff and reporters. Sarah Palin’s speech struck me that way: sarcastic. When Republicans nominate candidates who seem mean-spirited, they lose. Witness Goldwater in 1964 and Bob Dole twice – as Ford’s running mate in 1976 and himself in 1996.…
Read MoreSarah Palin
Last night, I got Mau Mau-ed on a radio interview by a Democrat who said, Donât be naïve. You canât really believe McCain knew Sarah Palinâs daughter was pregnant before he picked her? In fact, Iâm inclined to take McCain at his word. But, for one moment, looking at it through that Democratâs eyes, it…
Read MoreRepublican Meltdown
It’s an iron law of politics: Stay out of the way when your opponent is busy destroying himself. So Barack Obama is smart to lay low this week. John McCain’s VP pick shows us what kind of President he would be. He would make rash, risky and reckless decisions. Without waiting for the intelligence reports.…
Read MoreUnfair to Criminals
Many a time I’ve given a reporter a quote that didn’t look so good in print. So I felt for Rep. Melanie Wade Goodwin. The chair of the House committee on campaign finance law, she was expressing doubt about tougher penalties for crooked politicians in the N&O: “We also want to make sure we don’t…
Read MoreIt’s Not About the Boats
The North Carolina General Assembly has not necessarily fallen in love with big boats riding down the highways. They just don’t like Mike Easley. That’s what the override of his veto was about. It was one last chance to give a lame duck a swift kick on the way out. Legislators have never liked Easley.…
Read MoreGrand Slam
Barack Obama’s speech was in a big park, and he hit it out of the park. He did three things at once: Delivered the soaring, inspiring rhetoric that Democrats love and Republicans mock Showed middle-class Americans he is one of them Challenged McCain forcefully and directly, without sounding nasty and negative. Expectations were ridiculously high.…
Read MoreWRAL’s “Headline Saturday”
Be sure to turn on the television tomorrow at 7:30 P.M. and check out Carter and I on WRAL’s “Headline Saturday.” We’ll be talking about the Democratic and Republican conventions and, as usual, all things political. Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Read MoreThe Clinton-Slayer
It was a remarkable scene: Bill and Hillary Clinton sitting up in the stands, watching as Barack Obama took over their Democratic Party. The Clintons stepped aside with good grace. For Bill especially, ceding the spotlight has never been easy. But here is the real lesson of last night: Barack Obama is a tough, canny…
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