
Carter Wrenn

Gary Pearce
With the polls heading the wrong way, the Obama campaign has to consider whether tying John McCain to George Bush is a winning strategy. Since Denver, the Democratic message has been that McCain means four more years of Bush. But McCain may have used his convention to slip out of that trap. Picking Sarah Palin…
Read MoreLike the True Church, politics long ago split into two faiths: Organization and Media. I follow the Media faith. But the Obama campaign is trying to show that Organization leads to enlightenment. Or at least to victory. If organization works, this will be the year. It used to work. At late as 1976, organization played…
Read MoreBarlow Herget of State Government Radio asked me a question that reminded me of what I’m missing this time of year: “What’s happening inside a statewide campaign now?” Unfortunately, polisci students, campaigns right now are not just about strategy, media and organization. They’re also doing a lot of math: Fundraising: How much money is in…
Read MoreDemocrats are in their quadrennial panic. If self-flagellation were an Olympic event, we’d win the gold every four years. Yes, McCain’s pick of Palin changed the race. Yes, Obama needs to hit harder. Yes, Joe Biden’s right: Hillary would have been a better running mate. Even Tom Friedman is calling Obama a wuss, for Pete’s…
Read MoreJim Hunt was the last lieutenant governor elected governor. Thirty-six years ago. And Hunt had the advantage of being No. 2 under a Republican governor, so he could run against the Ins. Since then, lieutenant governors have not fared so well: Jimmy Green, Bob Jordan, Jim Gardner and Dennis Wicker (my friend and client). Now…
Read MoreThis morning in the newspaper John McCain ripped into Barack Obama, saying Obama supported “legislation ensuring ‘comprehensive sex education’ for kindergartners.” Sounds like Obama passed a bill to give kindergartners a manual on how to have safe sex, but, in fact, the kind of sex education Obama was proposing – in that bill – was…
Read MoreIt’s a sure sign of an anxious campaign when the manager releases internal polls. That’s what Zach Ambrose had to do this week for Bev Perdue after a WTVD poll showed her trailing. That came on the heels of the Carville-Greenberg poll. Perdue’s campaign released a memo from Garin-Hart-Yang, the campaign’s pollsters, showing Perdue ahead…
Read MoreSarah Palin will either lift John McCain to the White House or sink him. She’s taking a star turn now. But one thing never changes in politics: Change comes. Word now is that the National Enquirer has reassigned its “John Edwards Team” to Alaska. Give them a week. Then check the lipstick, mascara and blush…
Read MoreMy friend – and Internet guru – Mathew Gross has a great line for the Obama campaign: Sarah Palin didn’t just support the Bridge to Nowhere. She is the Bridge to Nowhere. Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Read MoreDoes a message about “workers,” “working families” and “working-class voters” really work for Democrats? Or does…
Read MoreI’ve resisted the temptation to rail every day about Trump’s cruelty, corruption and incompetence – and…
Read MoreJeanette Hyde went from Miss Yadkin County to Madam Ambassador. Hyde, who died Monday at age…
Read More