Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Pat McCrory is acting more and more like Donald Trump. Like Trump, he’s thin-skinned and sensitive. Like Trump, he personally and viciously attacks anybody who disagrees with him. And like Trump, he can’t stop digging his hole deeper. McCrory had his chief of staff call a late-night press conference to accuse a career state scientist…
Read MoreIt’s an odd sort of logic: UNC-Chapel Hill lawyered up and made its case to the NCAA: It admitted it held phony classes that never met; it admitted football and basketball players were in the classes – but said none of that’s a problem because phony classes don’t violate NCAA rules. It’s an unusual argument…
Read MoreWe knew that when a woman ran for President there’d be talk about being temperamental, overly emotional, overly sensitive and subject to mood swings that might be dangerous in the Oval Office and Situation Room. We just didn’t know that talk would be about the man in the race. But since he won the Republican…
Read MoreDuring the conventions the past two weeks, The Charlotte Observer published daily posts by Carter and me. We thank Taylor Batten and Peter St. Onge for the invitation and the guidance. We’ve been honored to do it, we’ve had great response and our blog got new readers. But we’re glad it’s over. Writing for a…
Read MoreWhat exactly did Donald Trump mean when he said Vladimir Putin is a “better leader” than President Obama and “is doing a better job”? Does he mean Russia is a better country? That it has a stronger economy? A fairer society? Better government? Or is more respected and admired around the world? Or does he…
Read MoreThe Democratic and Republican conventions offered two starkly different visions of America. Here’s how this old Democrat sees them. Hillary Clinton’s is bright and optimistic. Donald Trump’s is dark and pessimistic. Clinton says there’s hope. Trump says he’s the only hope. Clinton is about love and unity. Trump is about fear and loathing. Clinton says…
Read MorePolitical campaigns are odd creatures: There’re born, grow like crazy, live in chaos, then die on a set date. Back in the late 1970’s, Republicans leaped a generation ahead of Democrats in the arts (from fundraising to communicating with voters) of nourishing these strange creatures. But those days are gone. At their convention in…
Read MoreAs President Obama joked on Jimmy Fallon’s show not long ago, “How do you like me now?” Well, pretty good, the polls show. Especially as we ponder what comes next. As Michelle and Barack elegantly and eloquently exit the Democratic convention this week, let’s salute what they brought to the White House: eight years of…
Read MoreClicking back and forth between Fox News and CNN, watching the Democratic Convention, was like watching two different conventions. From two different worlds. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was roundly booed by Bernie Sanders’ supporters. But, then, Michelle Obama righted the Democrats’ ship with her speech Monday night – and proof of her effectiveness is the non-existent…
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