Archive for January 2007
Want to Win a Senate Seat?
With the exception of John Edwards in 1998, Democrats have lost every U.S. Senate race in North Carolina since 1986. That’s one win, five losses. Not very encouraging. But the climate may be changing. Especially if you pay attention to Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, which I do. You should pay them a visit: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/.…
Read MoreThe New Ethics Commission
North Carolina has a new “Ethics Commission” to clean up the corruption in Raleigh. But guess who appointed its members? The same people who’ve been in charge all along. Governor Easley, who according to the press just enjoyed a $650,000 windfall by buying beach property from political appointees, picked four members of the Commission. Speaker…
Read More“Vietnamization”
Years ago, when I was young enough to be drafted, I supported an idea called “Vietnamization” which is all but forgotten today. Vietnamization was President Nixon’s plan, at the end of the Vietnam War, to make the South Vietnamese responsible for defending their own country – so we could pull out. (And I wouldn’t get…
Read MoreTime for Plan B?
In politics as in football, speed kills – the other guy. Today we see a dramatic example of how fast modern presidential campaigns have to move. Word is that four BIG states – California, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey – may shift their presidential primaries to early next February. That means the race may not…
Read MoreBush Clinton Fatigue
Pollster John McLaughlin – who’s a smart guy for a Republican – has an interesting theory about the 2008 presidential race. He calls it Bush-Clinton fatigue. After 20 years of Bush-Clinton-Bush; John thinks, Americans need a break. If true, that is Hillary Clinton’s biggest obstacle to the White House. And a boost for Edwards, Obama…
Read MoreState of the Lame Duck
Beaten in Iraq and beaten at the polls, President Bush looked beaten in his speech last night. His Iraq policy is such a disaster – eight Republican Senators, including Virginia’s John Warner, have cut and run – that he was forced to talk about domestic issues. And his tepid speech served up tepid ideas. I’m…
Read MoreIs Mayor Meeker Losing Control of the City Council?
In the past the Mayor has pretty much had his own way on the City Council. It voted to fund his hotels, spend more on his convention center and to let him use tax-money to buy Dix Hill. But recently the Council voted down his push for English-style roundabouts on Hillsborough Street, and, now, on…
Read MoreGood Soldiers
Our generals, like the good soldiers they are, are loyally fighting the war in Iraq with the weapons the politicians are giving them. But if those weapons are not sufficient, or, conversely, if sending 21,000 more men to Baghdad is a fool’s errand, their loyalty should not prevent them from saying so. According to Bob…
Read MoreJoe Hackney’s First Scandal
The new Democrat choice for House Speaker, Joe Hackney, just inherited his first scandal. Two years ago Ms. Ann Lassiter, who headed the House page program, landed in hot water. First, in a lapse of judgment she has apologized for, she had the page program pay her son rent (so pages could live in his…
Read MoreWelcome to the NFL
It’s the season for hard hits – both in football and politics. Two political hits, in particular: A Washington Post story that John Edwards sold his D.C. mansion for $5.2 million to Paul and Terry Klaassen, “wealthy founders of the nation’s largest chain of assisted-living housing for seniors” who are “currently cooperating with a government…
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