Debate tips for tonight

What should Clinton and Trump do tonight? Tim Funk of the Charlotte Observer put that question to several North Carolina talking heads, including Carter and me. Read “Here’s what NC experts say Clinton, Trump need to do in last-chance debate.”

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The Stalker

Last night Donald Trump looked like a stalker, one of those sexual predators Republicans are so concerned about, except when he’s their nominee for President. After hearing his boys-on-the-bus “locker room talk,” we weren’t shocked by anything he said. The lying, rudeness and interrupting were familiar. What was new was what he did. Pacing. Sniffing.…

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Trump’s big fat trap

Since Donald Trump opened up his big fat trap at the debate 10 days ago, a big fat trap has opened up for Republicans all down the ballot. Polls now show the full measure of damage that Trump did to himself and to all Republicans, especially with Independents and women. Even worse, Trump has two…

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Will Trump melt down?

We want our President to be ready for the 3 am phone call. Donald Trump is already up at 3 am, firing off vicious, venomous tweets. Attacking a beauty pageant winner, of all things.  Which raises the prospect that in one of the debates he could become the first presidential candidate to have a total…

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Verbs for Hillary

Quick. Somebody get Hillary Clinton a verb. A whole bunch of them.  She needs them to reach swing voters – millennials and Trump-averse Independents and Republicans. They don’t know what she wants to DO as President, so they suspect she just wants to BE President.    Verbs connote action, movement and progress. No verbs =…

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Oaf in the Oval Office?

Trump blew it. Bigly.  One hundred million Americans watched last night for one reason: to see if they could see Trump as President. But they saw a bully. A braggart. And a blowhard.  He easily could have won the debate – and maybe the election. All he had to do was pull a Reagan. Be…

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Hillary’s moment

To be great, politicians – like athletes, performers and mythic heroes – must rise to moments of great challenge. Hillary Clinton’s moment comes in Monday’s debate. The merciless beast Momentum has turned against her. It was with her for several weeks after the conventions. Then the media and the commentariat grew tired of talking about…

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50 days minus 1

Carter and I were interviewed by The Charlotte Observer Monday about the election outlook. So, instead of having to organize our thoughts and actually write something, we’ll just post the following story by the Observer’s editorial board, “50 days out, here’s what political experts think (and predict!) about N.C.’s biggest races”: We’re less than 50…

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You’re news, you lose

Here’s the harsh reality of 2016 politics, as demonstrated by Hillary Clinton last week and Pat McCrory over the past many weeks: If you lead the news, you lose in the polls. You’re news, you lose. In an angry, negative political environment, more media attention translates directly into more negative feelings from voters. The ongoing…

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Hillary’s scars and secrets

You watch the Commander-in-Chief’s forum, and you see clearly that Donald Trump is dangerously unfit for office. But the race is too close for comfort. Why? First, Hillary Clinton is a woman. It’s that simple. And it’s unfair. But it’s a fact. Second, she and Bill have been on the front pages of national politics…

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