Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
In response to a question recently, I blogged that Jim Hunt (1972 Lieutenant Governor’s race) was the last male candidate to defeat a woman in a Democratic primary. Wrong. It was Erskine Bowles, who defeated – among others – Elaine Marshall in 2002. This is courtesy of my friend John Hood with…
Recently I took a shot at Rep. Bill Faison for taking a shot at Governor Perdue – one that I thought hurt him as much as her. Today – in an effort to be fair and balanced, as they say on Fox – I rise to praise him. Few figures in North Carolina…
This is it? This is the best Republicans can do? They’re about to fumble away what should be an open-field run to the White House. Case in point: An NBC/Marist poll this weekend shows President Obama leading both Republicans in South Carolina. I repeat: South Carolina. Maybe Rob Christensen is right and…
There is a big story behind this small item in the paper this week: “North Carolina’s public schools have the largest number of National Board Certified teachers in the nation, according to a release by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.” Nationally, there are 97,291 teachers with National Board Certification. North Carolina has over…
A fan of Tricia Cotham – no doubt looking ahead to a potential Superintendent of Public Instruction primary with Rick Glazier – asks: “When was the last time a male candidate defeated a female in a Democratic primary in North Carolina?” To my recollection – and, as usual, doing no research whatsoever – I…
A Tapster is mystified by Governor Perdue’s hiring of a new communications director, Jon Romano: “A governor who is struggling desperately to remain relevant and communicate clearly made another puzzling move this week. “Governor Bev Perdue hired a new communications expert who’s a former Bostonian politico whose only apparent ties to the state…
Two reasons: the speech he gave this week and his record. In 2008, Obama had a gift for giving exactly the right speech at exactly the right campaign moment. He did it again yesterday with his speech echoing Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal (Click here for the full text): “I believe that this country…
There’s something almost mystic about the numbers. We call 911 when we’re in trouble. America remembers – and avenges 9/11. Herman Cain had 9-9-9. Now the numbers have a new political significance: the 99 percent and the 1 percent. People who say the Occupy movement had little impact miss how it imprinted…
Up north in the land of the Yankees, about a decade ago New York hired Computer Services Corporation to process its Medicaid payments. But there was a hitch, according to the New York State Comptroller: The corporation’s computer system was “so inefficient and unable to detect deception” it’s allowed hundreds of millions in bogus payments.…
The political sniping began even as chaos still reigned at the White House Correspondents Dinner. My…
A new nationwide poll shows that, if they could run against each other in 2028, Barack…
Senator Phil Berger was out of touch with voters in his district – and suffered the…