General
Surging
Unless he trips coming around third base, Barack Obama has hit a grand slam with his grand tour. The pictures are the story. Obama conferring with foreign leaders. Getting off a presidential-looking jet. Carrying a flak jacket. Riding in military helicopters. Listening to military commanders. Greeting troops. Sinking three-pointers. Obama looked like a President. Meanwhile,…
Read MoreWho Flip-Flops?
The only card McCain and the GOP have to play against Obama is the flip-flop charge that Carter & Co. used so effectively against Jim Hunt in 1984. The irony is laughable. McCain could give lessons in flip-flopping. The Bush challenger of 2000 is the Bush lackey of 2008. The opponent of Bush’s tax cuts…
Read MoreKay Hagan and the DSCC’s $6 Million
I don’t believe the DSCC is bluffing about spending $6 million-plus for Kay Hagan in North Carolina. The DSCC chairman, Senator Chuck Schumer, told one of Hillary Clinton’s top North Carolina supporters in March that he would put real money into the race. He probably had to make that commitment to entice Hagan to run.…
Read MoreObama-McCain Poll
WRAL’s poll last week showed that John McCain is irrelevant to this election – and Barack Obama still faces a challenge. The poll showed McCain leading only 45-42. The good news for Democrats: McCain is weak, weak, weak. His problems: He’s old, and he represents George Bush’s third term. The bad news: Obama is still…
Read MoreDrill We Must?
Dick Morris can be slimy and smarmy, but he’s smart. This week he put his finger on an issue that Democrats need to think hard about: offshore – or, as the Republicans call it – “deep-sea” drilling for oil. Clearly the Republicans have drilled down on this issue with some heavy-duty polling. Almost simultaneously, John…
Read MoreThe Six-Million-Dollar Woman
I haven’t been on particularly warm terms with Bob and Elizabeth Dole since 1996, when I made a passel of negative ads for Steve Forbes during the Iowa Caucus attacking then-Senator Bob Dole – but New York Senator Charlie Schumer may be about to turn what happened in Iowa ten years ago into a glimmering…
Read MoreObama’s Helmet
There’s a big new CBS News/New York Times poll out and Obama’s popularity has dropped. Which sounds good. Until you look at McCain’s numbers. He dropped too. Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Let’s put this as bluntly as possible: McCain needs to defeat Obama roughly 56% to 44% among white voters to…
Read MoreBeing a Republican in the State Legislature
If you’re a Republican in the minority in the House or Senate, the last few years have been one long, frustrating nightmare. The North Carolina legislature works on a winner-take-all system. The majority doesn’t rule. It dictates. There are no such things as filibusters or minority party rights. You lose the election and you have…
Read MoreSatanists and Mammon
The Democratic Satanists in Durham are going on trial: According to the first hearing they’ve been “channeling demons” and, naturally, met through the Internet. For those who deny the occult, the defense attorney has a different explanation. He says there are no evil spirits on the loose in Durham – just a few people practicing…
Read MoreGetting on the Same Sheet of Music
North Carolina Republicans have one bona fide, big league, blue chip campaign that has all the ingredients for success this year: Elizabeth Dole’s. Senator Dole has built the only major Republican campaign in North Carolina that is raising more money than her opponent. And she has polls. And effective ads. And her campaign team has…
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