Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
What happens if a candidate turns out to be so bad at being a candidate his campaign doesn’t dare let him loose on the public – say, because every time he opens his mouth the campaign totters on the brink of destruction? The solution: A Stealth Candidate. It’s an old tried and true formula. Sixteen…
Read MoreThe Obama campaign has to attack Sarah Palin. She has turned the race around for McCain. Democrats must turn her into a negative for him. They may be reluctant to attack a woman. But the DSCC got over that with Liddy Dole. One poll shows that white women went from being slightly for Obama before…
Read MoreI watched the first thirty minutes of the Perdue vs. McCrory debate. The “Thriller from Manila” it was not. About the time I was ready to doze off, McCrory, self-righteously praising himself, said, ‘I have never run a negative ad.’ That woke me up. I hate it when a candidate does that. Doesn’t McCrory believe…
Read MoreTonight’s debate is a chance for Bev Perdue and Pat McCrory to step out of the shadows of the national party conventions and the U.S. Senate race. Time to fill in the picture of themselves – and their opponent. Their race is close, maybe even tied. They have eight weeks. Here are three things each…
Read MoreUnder the Dome reports that political analyst Charlie Cook said at Elon University yesterday that: Obama’s extensive field operation in North Carolina will bring a higher percentage of young voters and black voters to the polls who will support other Democrats on the ballot, regardless of how closely tied the candidates are to Obama. “While…
Read MoreLet’s pause before we leap into two months of partisan rancor, as John McCain might say. The two parties nominated two remarkable men for President. And they come from two different Americas, as John Edwards might say. Obama represents the youthful, idealistic and tolerant values of a changing country. McCain represents the older values of…
Read MoreThat old bomber pilot John McCain dropped a blockbuster on both parties this week with his pick of Sarah Palin. He shook the Republicans back to life, and he shook up the Democrats. He also shook up the race. But it will take a while to figure which targets suffered the most collateral damage. If…
Read MoreWatching Sarah Palin’s speech, I could not help but think two things.First, I thought I was watching the rise of a great future star of the Republican Party. She handled herself well, and had a real fire and energy that the ticket previously lacked. Regardless of the outcome of the election, this is someone who…
Read MoreThis week’s Time says John McCain’s basic nature is sarcastic. That’s how he often deals with staff and reporters. Sarah Palin’s speech struck me that way: sarcastic. When Republicans nominate candidates who seem mean-spirited, they lose. Witness Goldwater in 1964 and Bob Dole twice – as Ford’s running mate in 1976 and himself in 1996.…
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Does a message about “workers,” “working families” and “working-class voters” really work for Democrats? Or does…
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I’ve resisted the temptation to rail every day about Trump’s cruelty, corruption and incompetence – and…
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Jeanette Hyde went from Miss Yadkin County to Madam Ambassador. Hyde, who died Monday at age…
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