Issues
The Fact Checkers
There’s not much doubt there’s a lot of half-truthin’ and even some outright lyin’ going on in the Presidential campaign but the ‘Fact-Checkers’ who’ve proclaimed themselves the ‘truth-tellers’ in this election are starting to look a little blowsy themselves. Last Wednesday night Paul Ryan said Obama “funneled $716 billion out of Medicare.” ‘Not…
Read MoreGOP Convention Triage
Mitt was Mitt, Clint was crazy, and Paul Ryan did the most to damage himself of any speaker at the Republican convention. Let’s review the main players. Romney had a good line: “I want to help your family.” But he didn’t shed the label Obama’s ads have stuck on him: Rich, stiff and out…
Read MoreStorm Signals
Isaac busted up the Republican convention schedule. It’s competing for TV coverage. Therein lies another danger to the GOP: Is it good to bash government when a lot of people may need government help? One story said the federal government spent $10 billion building levees to protect New Orleans. Did Governor Bobby Jindal reject…
Read MoreA Bigger Swamp…
Unless you happen to be one of the half-dozen people in Raleigh who do not own a television you’ve figured out by now that both sides in the Presidential race mean to do whatever it takes to win. This virulent outbreak of no holds barred politics has some folks worried we’ve stumbled into a kind…
Read MoreA Bigger Swamp…
Unless you happen to be one of the half-dozen people in Raleigh who do not own a television you’ve figured out by now that both sides in the Presidential race mean to do whatever it takes to win. This virulent outbreak of no holds barred politics has some folks worried we’ve stumbled into a kind…
Read MoreChanging the Subject
Since he picked Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has been talking about: Medicaid cuts, budget cuts, taxes (his and ours), Bain Capital, Obamacare, abortion and, now, birth certificates. None of which address undecided voters’ number-one concern: jobs and the economy. There seems to be a simple message for Romney in this campaign: “The economy is…
Read MoreStand Your Ground, Rep. Akin
Rep. Todd Akin shouldn’t pull out (pardon the expression) of the Missouri Senate race. First of all, he is the Democratic Party’s best bet to keep control of the United States Senate. So stand up to all those weaklings in the GOP, Todd! Stand up for what you believe! Second, Akin may have…
Read MoreThe Breaking Point
The other day Gary wrote “Why They Lie” about the election in 1984 when Jim Hunt and Jesse Helms were duking it out and how elbow throwing was acceptable in that campaign but outright lying was taboo – that was one line both Helms and Hunt feared to cross. Because they’d pay a price. …
Read MoreWalmart Shoppers
Rob Christensen’s column about “Walmart Moms” shows that this election is more about personalities and less about Medicare, the debt, competing budget plans, taxes or any of the issues that animate the media and political chatter. The focus groups Christensen went to focused not on “issues,” but on personal impressions of the candidates and…
Read MoreJim Hunt and the Dropout Rate
I had to laugh when Republicans claimed credit for North Carolina’s high-school graduation rate topping 80 percent. And I have to stake a claim for Jim Hunt’s role. Over the last six years, the state’s graduation rate has gone up nearly 12 percentage points –from at 68.3 percent in 2006 to 80.2 percent. …
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