Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
John McCain may be right by removing four top staffers to resurrect his sagging presidential campaign. But it’s difficult not to suspect McCain’s deeper problem may be McCain. After the 2000 election, Senator McCain became a sort of maverick Republican in the Senate, co-sponsoring the Kennedy-McCain Immigration Bill, brokering deals with Democrats on judges and…
Read MoreThis morning a federal judge sentenced former House Speaker Jim Black to 63 months in prison. But the scandals that have rocked Democrats in the State House may not be over. Monday federal prosecutors revealed that Black took $500,000 from a lobbyist and put the money in his campaign account in 2000. Of course, what…
Read MoreThis blog will tilt rightward for the next two weeks, because we’re taking a family vacation to Italy, and I won’t be blogging. I’ve never been to Italy. So I consider this an experiment to see how I like a country that features universal health care, two-hour midday breaks and an average of 41 vacation…
Read MoreCampaign finance reform is happening. Not because of new laws, but because of the Internet. That’s the real story behind Barack Obama’s phenomenal fundraising totals in the second quarter. A lot of the money came in online. He built a base of hundreds of thousands of small contributors – nearly all of whom can give…
Read MoreIncensed, swept away by a wave of spontaneous outrage, Elizabeth Edwards picked up the phone and called Ann Coulter on ‘Hardball’ to give her a piece of her mind for smearing John (The News and Observer, 7-1-07). Now, I can think of a lot of things my wife might like say to the woman who…
Read MoreUntil the voters vote, there are only two ways to keep score in politics: polls and money. So here’s what the second-quarter fundraising scorecard tells us: John McCain: Put butter on him, because he’s toast. His hopes are dying for one reason: He supported the immigration bill. And Republican primary voters hate him for it.…
Read MoreTo honor July 4th, I take issue with Sunday’s front-page story in The News & Observer: “Attacks replace issues; politics turns poisonous.” Excuse me, but have they heard of the 1984 Hunt-Helms race? Or the 1950 Smith-Graham race? There is nothing new here. The only thing new, really, is cable TV, the Internet and talk…
Read MoreThe News and Observer headline – “Executive Privilege Showdown Looming” – may sound boring, but it could be the start of some real fireworks. The Democrats sent a little subpoena over to the White House, demanding to see records about “The Bush Administration’s terrorism-era warrantless wiretapping” and a few other things. The President sent it…
Read MoreWho’d have ever dreamed Hillary Clinton would raise over $50 million – and that Barack Obama would outraise her by almost $5 million. Worse – if you’re Hillary – Obama now has 258,000 donors, who’ll keep giving and giving, which spells a big financial edge in the coming months. This is a political wind change…
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