Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Democrats are apoplectic about the McCain campaign’s distortions, distractions and outright lies. It’s the old Rovean, Swift-Boat strategy: say anything, no matter how outrageous, until it sticks. Let’s not get too huffy. Bev Perdue’s campaign showed that Democrats can play the game. Pat McCrory’s campaign took a predictable shot at her: Return the money you…
Pat Stith convinced me that The News & Observer won’t lose its soul when he leaves. I told you he was a loyal guy. He is also persuasive. Stith says his retirement does not stem from the buyouts. He is 66, after all. He has been pondering retirement for a while. And he wants to…
We liberals pride ourselves on our commitment to clean, open and ethical government. Then we get in power and show that we can be just as hypocritical as the other guys. Witness the Gang of Four – the members of the Raleigh City Council who have been meeting in private to discuss city business, according…
Pat Stith is the best reporter there ever was. Not at The News & Observer. Not in North Carolina. The best. Ever. Anywhere. I had the good luck to work with him at the N&O in the early 70s. We once worked together on a story about state government misusing federal jobs money. I learned…
A veteran North Carolina Democrat points out the surest sign that the McCain campaign is worried about North Carolina: They are spending money on TV ads there. For months, Republicans have insisted they aren’t worried about North Carolina going for Obama. Steve Schmidt, McCain’s chief strategist, has said: “It’s just one more state where the…
I’m still stuck on John McCain saying Barack Obama supports ‘comprehensive sex education’ for kindergartners. If McCain is telling the truth he’s convinced me – 100% – Obama does not have the judgment to be president. But if, on the other hand, it’s not true, he’s landed me in a conundrum. Because that’s a pretty…
Democrats have been more down than the Dow Jones Index since the Republican convention. But there is a definite uptick this week, with one exception. Here is my reading of the Democratic Election Mood Index (DEMI) as of today: The air is going out of the Palin bubble. Thanks, Tina Fey. Bad economic news is…
Down to his last four months in the governor’s mansion and looking ahead at his future beyond politics, Mike Easley has given his wife a five-year contract to work at North Carolina State University for $170,000 a year. Democrats are giving Sarah Palin the devil for trying to fire one Alaska state trooper – but…
Two stories in today’s N&O point to where things are headed. A front-page story by Mark Johnson. Previously, he and other Charlotte Observer staffers were identified as “Charlotte Observer.” Today, he was identified as “staff writer.” The Business section said the McClatchy chain, which owns the N&O and Observer, will begin layoffs Monday. Already, Johnson…
Exactly 80 years ago, in 1946, Republicans took control of Congress with a simple message: “Had…
Jim Hunt would like James Talarico winning the Democratic primary in Texas. Like Talarico, the late…
