The editorial made Governor McCrory so mad he sat down and wrote the editors a letter telling them they had a choice: They could continue to malign an outstanding public servant – the Governor was talking about his legal counsel – or they could admit they were elitists who lacked journalistic standards.

It’s an odd combination: The Governor’s kind-hearted. And sentimental. But he’s also thin-skinned. One moment the he’s thoughtfully offering a plate of cookies to a group of women protesting outside the Governor’s mansion – and the next he’s got a newspaper editor by the throat.