Richard Moore’s campaign has taken heart from the new Public Policy Polling survey that shows him trailing Bev Perdue only 44-34.

Skepticism is in order given the wild swing from PPP’s last poll, which had Moore behind by 27 points. PPP attributed the change to Moore’s new ad. But one ad, not long on the air, likely did not make that much difference that fast.

Regardless, after a puzzling period of quiet, the Moore campaign is turning up the heat on Perdue. He is challenging her on not debating more, he is positioning himself to attack her and he is doing all he can to tie himself to Barack Obama. He was at Obama’s event in Fayetteville.

When did you last see a Democratic candidate for Governor of North Carolina cling so tightly to the coattails of a Democratic presidential candidate?

Perdue’s strategy has been to never let Moore get to the left of her. When he opposed Duke Energy’s Cliffside plant, she opposed it. When he endorsed Obama, she endorsed Obama. He called for raising the minimum wage (a Democratic primary perennial), so she called for raising the minimum wage.

Now she better get ready to hit back when he hits her.

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