Issues
The Verdict Is In
John Drescher’s letter to readers in today’s N&O makes it clear that John Edwards’ “confession” was a spectacular failure. Drescher, the executive editor, wrote to defend his paper’s coverage. But he concluded with this ominous note for Edwards: “Questions remain about who is the father of Hunter’s baby and whether Edwards knew about payments to…
Read MoreA Catch-22 for Obama
There are two race cards. One is a no-holds-barred, two-fisted, blunt-edged appeal to race that’s hardly ever seen anymore. These days only a desperate politician, or one bent on suicide, plays that race card. The other race card is more subtle. It can be as simple as a candidate having a campaign slogan like, “He’s…
Read MoreJohn Edwards
John Edwards has told ABC News he had an affair with Rielle Hunter. It will be on Nightline tonight. Now, as I’m sure you have, I’ve seen folks get knocked down flat on their backs and get kicked while they’re still lying there. It’s just plain mean. Also, after all this hit the airwaves I…
Read MoreThe Crown Prince of Charlatans
One moment Barack Obama sounds like a wild-eyed liberal who’s out to “save the planet” from the icecaps melting – the next he’s turning around and coming out for offshore drilling. One moment John McCain sounds like a two-fisted independent and maverick – but at the same time down in the bowels of McCain Central…
Read MoreEdwards Vs. The Enquirer
John Edwards’ political career began after the death of his first child. Will it end after the birth of another child? A once-strong Edwards supporter posed that question the other day. She, like other supporters, is nervous about the “love child” story. Edwards said it’s “tabloid trash.” That’s not enough. If the story is not…
Read MoreCrime Breaks Out
Like gas prices nationally, crime could be the surprise issue in the North Carolina governor’s race this year. The rolling gang fight at Triangle Towne Center last weekend gives Raleigh residents pause. Charlotteans wonder what took us so long. Break-ins – thought to be gang-related – plague even the best neighborhoods there. Pat McCrory has…
Read MorePolls and Cell Phones
A very smart (by definition) fan of this blog asked a question I could not answer: “How can telephone polls be accurate when so many people – especially young people – have cell phones and no landlines?” So I posed the question to three smart pollsters (Democratic and Republican). Here are their answers (with only…
Read MoreWill the Real Politician Please Stand Up?
Gary, I’m going to agree. John McCain’s a flip-flopper. The old admiral is zigging and zagging. But a bit of the shine’s rubbing off Obama’s apple too. After a year of telling everyone who’d listen how he’s going to get us out of the war, His Nimbleness just said – in Baghdad, no less –…
Read MoreBlonde Jokes
I guess whenever someone says they oppose bullying gays, then turns around and says in the next breath they also oppose a law that says, No bullying gays, that gives folks reason to pause. Anyway, when I did it, it gave Brunette (who regularly posts here and whom I enjoy reading) qualms. She wrote: “Carter,…
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…
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