General
Poll: The Presidential Race
The latest Gallop Poll of the Democratic and Republican candidates says: Democrats Hillary Clinton 31% Barack Obama 19% John Edwards 10% Al Gore 9% John Kerry 7% Republicans Rudy Giuliani 28% John McCain 26% Condoleezza Rice 13% Newt Gingrich 7% Mitt Romney 5% Pollster Dick Morris (http://www.vote.com/) observed that the poll shows the ‘gender gap’…
Read MoreGetting Out of Iraq
The Iraq Security Group led by former Secretary of State Jim Baker is about to release itâs report, and despite all the window dressing about finding a ânew way forwardâ it looks like the bottom line is simple: Letâs get out of Iraq. Of course the politicians and diplomats arenât putting it quite that bluntly,…
Read MoreWill Raleigh Elections Be First Shot in Democrats’ Civil War?
Thomas Friedman wrote in The New York Times recently that Iraqis can’t be having a civil war because they’re not sufficiently organized to have one. But I suspect my fellow Democrats are. And next year’s Raleigh elections may be the first battle of that war. There are two very different schools of thought in the…
Read MoreJournalists Struggle with “New Media”
Carter and I did a panel Sunday before a group of Southern journalists who are navigating their way through the brave new world of blogs and the Internet – and the impact on politics. One UNC professor asked this question: “Does the ‘new media’ make politics more negative and more superficial?” He cited the blog-…
Read MoreJudicial Ethics?
Ethics are supposed to set standards for ‘virtuous’ behavior, so you wouldn’t expect ‘judicial ethics’ to result in an injustice. But that appears to have happened in the trial of two off duty Durham police officers charged with assaulting a short order cook at Blinco’s sports bar. Here’s what happened: When the prosecutor rested his…
Read MoreThe Seat That Got Away
North Carolina Democrats had a good year, but it could have been better. Talkingaboutpolitics.com has learned (now, doesn’t that sound pretentious?) that Rahm Emmanuel’s vaunted Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee missed a chance to take out Robin Hayes. A group of North Carolina Democrats were poised to raise last-minute money for Democrat Larry Kissell’s campaign, if…
Read MoreStraight Ticket Voting Up
People used to say, I don’t care which party straightens out our country as long as one does. But times have changed. The Charlotte Observer (11-13-06) reports “straight ticket voting” increased 20% in Mecklenburg County this election. Of course, it’s possible that every, say, Democratic candidate in every race was more qualified than his Republican…
Read MoreFollow the Money
We may be about to get another glimpse into “backstage politics.” Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed House Speaker Pro-Tem Richard Morgan to testify before the grand jury. What they want to ask Morgan about is a $100,000 donation “a small cigarette manufacturer” gave “a political group” he created in 2004 – a year after Morgan stopped…
Read MoreHouse Democrats
Nothing starts a fight quicker in Congress than the scramble for power. It’s an old story and it’s just happened to Democrats. The election was barely over when they started fighting among themselves to see who will be the ‘powers’ in the new Congress. The big tussle – between Congressman Jack Murtha and Congressman Steny…
Read MoreHere’s Something You Don’t See Everyday
UNC President Erskine Bowles is going to ask the legislature to increase the UNC System’s budget 11%. But Bowles has done something unusual. He’s backed his request by cutting what amounts to $440 million in other university spending. For example, he’s cut his own staff 10%. It’s hard to recall anyone else, anywhere else, in…
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