Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
It’s time to round up the usual suspects. Because Washington is headed into the same old battle over raising taxes. But this time the stakes are bigger, the faces are different and the outcome may be surprising. Since Ronald Reagan, the Republican formula has been a simple one. As Mary Matalin put it on MSNBC…
Read MorePresident Obama made a crucial strategic, rhetorical and political pivot in his speech to Congress last night. He shifted from warnings of “catastrophe” to an assertion of confidence: “We will rebuild, we will recover.” More than with most politicians, Obama’s words are worth paying attention to. Because, as a writer, he pays attention to words.…
Read MoreHere is, perhaps, the ultimate irony: Former KGB head and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is warning the United States against socialism. Quote: The U.S. should take a lesson from Russian history and not put its faith in “excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence because socialism doesn’t work.” “In…
Read MoreAs a nation turns its lonely eyes to President Obama tonight, I’m reminded of the plaintive question Casey Stengel asked about the sad-sack Mets: “Can’t anybody here play this game?” Does anybody in Washington know what they’re doing? Do they know how to stop the Great Recession – and prevent a “Lost Decade”? Surely, the…
Read MoreTony Rand rolled out a sure-fire crowd-pleaser last week: limit the number of days legislators can collect their expenses. Voters love it. Good-government types extol it. Legislators can hardly vote against it. But some people question – privately – the wisdom behind it. Are shorter legislative sessions by definition better? In whatever your line of…
Read MoreGene Conti’s pick of N&O veteran Ted Vaden as deputy DOT secretary for communications revealed three things: Conti (caveat: a good friend) will be a good secretary. He understands that DOT will benefit from some disinfectant and sunshine. The N&O, like many daily papers, looks like a sinking ship. The age-old media suspicion of “flacks”…
Read MoreYesterday, reading a report in the paper about all the bills introduced I got the impression the state legislature is a hotbed of activity – so last night at dinner with a state representative I said, It looks like you all have been pretty busy. He frowned, I don’t know where you got that idea…
Read MoreNow that President Obama has signed the stimulus bill, the real free-for-all begins – both financial and political. The most popular people in Raleigh today are Dempsey Benton and Gene Conti. As DOT secretary, Conti has road money to spend. As Governor Perdue’s stimulus czar, Benton will oversee the rest of the windfall from Washington.…
Read MoreMost everybody in America has figured out by now the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street are fallible, but no matter how much cupidity there is in board rooms and executive washrooms it’s beginning to look like Congress is still king of the hill when it comes to waywardness. The other day a conference…
Read More
Does a message about “workers,” “working families” and “working-class voters” really work for Democrats? Or does…
Read More
I’ve resisted the temptation to rail every day about Trump’s cruelty, corruption and incompetence – and…
Read More
Jeanette Hyde went from Miss Yadkin County to Madam Ambassador. Hyde, who died Monday at age…
Read More