Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
A wise and frequent reader of this blog (but I repeat myself) takes issue with my recent advice to the N&O’s John Drescher re his public disagreements with Governor Easley. The reader writes: “I disagree on the effectiveness of saying, ‘We stand by the story.’ That’s the editor’s equivalent of ‘No comment.’ If it ever…
As she moved ever closer to achieving her dream of becoming Governor, Bev Perdue suffered from what George Bush called – in another context and in a line he surely didn’t understand – “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” Maybe it was because she’s a woman. Maybe it was her reputation as ambitious, a demanding…
Gene Conti’s appointment as Secretary of DOT pleases me not only because he’s a pro, as the N&O headline said, but also because he’s a good friend and good golf partner. (Defined as a golfer who does not beat me too badly too often.) Gene now takes over one of the toughest challenges in state…
You have to credit Raleigh attorney Gene Boyce with the virtue of stick-to-itiveness. Eight years ago Boyce’s son, Dan, ran for Attorney General against Roy Cooper. If I remember the facts correctly, during the campaign Cooper ran an ad attacking Dan Boyce (and his father) for their handling of a lawsuit on behalf of state…
There were all kinds of interesting twists to Governor-elect Perdue’s first Cabinet appointments. Like President-elect Obama, she started by announcing related posts. Her theme was public safety. That shows the power of the press to dictate her agenda. But she may not have been happy that the N&O focused on her decision not to keep…
Christmas should always come on Thursday. Because that means New Year’s Day is a Thursday. Which puts off Back-to-Work day to January 5. You have to love the quiet week between the two holidays. But it has its disadvantages. Newspapers and TV news – with little of consequence to cover – deluge us with lists:…
I can’t defend Governor Easley’s comments about the N&O not being “nice” to him – and accusing the paper of a “hatchet job.” In a recent term-ending interview, the Governor said he often avoids public events because he likes to have time to think things out. He should have thought this out better. He…
People have been dying in our state mental hospitals for lack of care; our parole system is so broken criminals on parole have murdered 580 people – and, now, Governor Easley says, at the end of his term, that it’s a shame the mean ole News and Observer hasn’t treated him ‘nicer.’ The governor puts…
The smoke’s clearing from the election and the voter statistics tell a simple straightforward story: Four years ago African-Americans were 19% of the voters – this year they were 25%. Obama’s campaign said it was going to turn out 250,000 new African-American voters – and darn near did it. Thanks to Obama’s relentless ‘ground game’…
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…
A reassuring lesson from our trip to Germany and Czechia is that dictators, despots and tyrants…