Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
First Madam Speaker, Then Madam President?
My wife and daughter were happy to see Speaker Pelosi sworn in. I’m sure a lot of women felt the same way. So many, in fact, that we could see Madam President sworn in two years from now. Dick Morris – who may or may not be an expert on women – has written that…
Common Sense and Lacrosse
After Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong took the oath of office for a new term, apparently, the press was complaining about not being allowed to attend the ceremony, asking if it violated the Open Meetings laws. Judge Orlando Hudson, who swore in Nifong, then became the first government official in quite a while to say…
Backstage Politics: Meeker on Senators vs. Mayors
While Judge Hudson was making common sense, Mayor Meeker was headed in the opposite direction. The Mayor told the News and Observer (1-3-07) he has “considered” running for the United States Senate against Elizabeth Dole, but decided there is more a mayor in a bustling city like Raleigh can do than a Senator. So he’s…
Villains and Heroes
The Associated Press just took one of its perennial New Year’s Eve polls, asking questions like “Who was the biggest villain this past year?” George Bush was the biggest villain. More Americans said President Bush was a villain, than said Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran’s nuclear arms building President) and Kim Jong…
Newt McHenry
North Carolina Congressman Patrick McHenry is the early favorite for this Congress’ Newt Gingrich Hysterical Hypocrisy Award. “Waving his hands and stomping his feet,” according to news reports, McHenry decried House Democrats’ plans to quickly act on their key priorities. Such as ethics reform, stem cell research and raising the minimum wage. Railed McHenry: “If,…
Legal Ethics Revisited
Last fall, defense attorney Tommy Manning did what appeared to be a clever thing. He got a case against his client, a Durham policeman accused of assaulting a short-order cook in the parking lot of Blinko’s Restaurant, dismissed on a technicality. But it turns out Manning wasn’t so clever after all. He told Judge Debra…
John Edwards Finally Takes a Stand
John Edwards finally took a controversial stand on Sunday on George Stephanopoulos’ TV program and it was a doozie. Edwards didn’t put it quite this bluntly, but when Stephanopoulos asked if he supported ‘gay marriage,’ Edwards shook his head and said, ‘Well, I’m just not there yet.’ That was a first for Edwards. For years,…
A Hanging Offense
Saddam Hussein got what he deserved. But did America? The hanging scene was disturbing on many levels. The masked hangmen looked like the guys who chop off heads in hostage videos. The shouted curses hardly lent an atmosphere of justice being carried out. And what was the big rush? I’m not bothered by a brutal…
Edwards
John Edwards’ presidential announcement last week demonstrated why it’s better to be lucky than smart in politics. The Edwards team had a good strategy: a two-day made-for-TV announcement in New Orleans. And what seemed like good timing: the news-dead week between Christmas and New Year’s. Then Gerald Ford died. And Sadaam Hussein was hanged. And…