Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
I’ve been puzzling over why Bev Perdue isn’t doing better in the polls. Now I have a theory: It’s Richard Moore’s fault. Last week I saw one poll that showed Perdue leading Pat McCrory by only two points. The same poll showed Barack Obama only two points behind John McCain in North Carolina. Both Obama…
Read MoreHouse Republican Leader ‘Skip’ Stam is turning thumbs down on North Carolina casting its electoral votes for the candidate for President who wins the popular vote – but it may turn out to be a political gamble that backfires. Last year – when Democrats put electing the President by popular vote on the table –…
Read MoreWinner: Campaign Symbols Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are holding their Unity Rally in – no kidding – Unity, New Hampshire. Apparently they could not find a place called Change. And Bill Clinton owns the deed to a place called Hope. Loser: Edwards for Veep Elizabeth Edwards publicly questioned whether Obama should have opted out…
Read MoreA Republican consultant figures there is a direct relationship between the price of gas and Barack Obama’s vote in North Carolina. He told me he spent four days running numbers on turnout and election models. His conclusion: If gas stays under $4 a gallon, Obama’s maximum vote in the state is 46.5 percent. But if…
Read MoreThe School Board’s shocked, just shocked. And mad. “Who on the Wake County Board of Commissioners,” growls one board member, “Wants the dubious honor of putting Wake County on a downward spiral?” What’s up? The Board asked the County Commissioners to almost double its budget over the next five years – and the Commissioners said…
Read More2008 must look worse for the Republicans than I thought. At least, they think so. President Bush stole into and out of Raleigh Friday with nary a photo op or video with Pat McCrory, Liddy Dole or any other Republican politician. This is major. I cannot remember the last time a Republican president – or…
Read MoreCullen Browder from WRAL-TV asked me if it helps or hurts Pat McCrory for President Bush to do a fundraiser in North Carolina. The answer is: both. McCrory has several hundred thousand reasons to bring in Bush: That’s how much money he’ll raise. But McCrory doesn’t want too much coverage. So Bush is coming at…
Read MoreThe topic at breakfast downtown this morning was the cutbacks at the N&O – and consolidation with The Charlotte Observer. “Society and democracy took a hit this week,” one friend said. He believes the cuts mean less competition among the papers, less news coverage and less scrutiny of government. “But the papers have to face…
Read MoreThe only thing worse than the cuts at The News & Observer was the way N&O executives handled the announcement. They sounded like the stonewalling government bureaucrats the N&O excoriates during Open Government Week. Jonathan B. Cox, who wrote the story, had the hardest job in North Carolina. Imagine writing about your employers while they’re…
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