Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Walter Jones Jr. always surprises me. I first met him in 1977, when he was Governor Hunt’s “eastern North Carolina representative.” It was understood that he was hired as a favor to his father, Congressman Walter Jones, and that young Walter was preparing to take his father’s seat eventually. That was no surprise.…
Imagine that the shoe was on the other foot – or the shout came from the other side of the aisle. Imagine this: President Bush gives a speech about reforming Social Security. He says we should adopt a partial privatization plan. And he vows that no older American will lose any of their Social…
My son James has an intriguing theory about Barack Obama’s September Slumps. Candidate Obama had one last year. John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin had shaken up the race, and she had not yet imploded. Nor had the economy. The polls were tied. Democrats were in a panic. This year, President Obama had…
Hardly a Democrat has a doubt the Internet has become a force majeure in politics; and if any Republican had any doubts take a look at whatâs happened to Representative Joe Wilson Congressman Wilson was cruising to reelection in a Republican District when he called out, âYou lie!â on national TV â then overnight a…
Pass any ethics law you want. Set up any ethics board you want. The best ethics protection remains The News & Observer. Getting a copy of the Easleys’ settlement statement at Cannonsgate (can there really be a –gate in this story?) is an amazing coup. As shown by Wade Byrd’s threat to sue the…
There’s plenty of hot news lately. Iran’s close to building a bomb. ACORN operatives got caught on film trying to figure out how to bring young girls from Honduras to Baltimore for what sounded a lot like a prostitution ring. And the Republican National Committees are going all out to elect a…
Excuse the big yawn from many Democrats at the news Elaine Marshall apparently will run for Senate. I say apparently because, as the N&O noted, her consultant announced her candidacy. She was not available to speak for herself. Not a good sign. And not the sign of a committed candidate. Yes, she is…
As if Governor Perdue’s not singlehandedly doing enough to sink the Democrats next election (with her 25% Favorable to 50% Unfavorable) former Governor Easley is lending a hand. Not even P.T. Barnum pulled off what Easley ahs done: Going to a real estate closing to buy a half-a-million dollar lot with borrowed money…
Never underestimate a President who can talk eloquently about moral issues. It’s easy to forget that. We haven’t had a President who could do it for 20 years – since Ronald Reagan left the White House. The Bushes could hardly put together a coherent sentence. Yes, Bill Clinton could talk a blue streak.…
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…