Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
In the Senate race it’s deja vu all over again for the third time: The same scarlet thread running through the races for President and Governor runs right on through Elizabeth Dole’s race. If you like George Bush, you vote for Senator Dole. If you don’t, you vote for Kay Hagan – except for a…
Read MoreElizabeth Dole has rolled a hand grenade into the Senate race. The question is whether it will blow up Kay Hagan or Dole herself. The Dole campaign last night launched an ad tying Hagan to the “Godless Americans PAC.” Today, an attorney sent Dole herself – at her Watergate residence in Washington – a letter…
Read MoreWe’ve about reached the point in the campaign where humor is in short supply – so here’s a video of Boston Legal’s Denny Crane being mugged that floated in over the transom from out in cyberspace. Here’s a link. Email it to a friend. Former House Speaker Richard Morgan’s book, The Fourth Witch: A Memoir…
Read MoreOne striking thing about the plethora of North Carolina polls has received little attention: There is little difference this year in the Democratic vote for President, Senator and Governor. In 2004, Mike Easley ran some 12 points ahead of John Kerry. Erskine Bowles, although he lost to Richard Burr, ran several points ahead. For years,…
Read MoreFor years it’s been a North Carolina tradition for governors to appoint big contributors and fundraisers to the State Board of Transportation and, as a result, over the years more than a few roads have been paved for what looks a lot like political reasons. But with corruption getting out of hand in Raleigh and…
Read MoreWhen it comes to drilling off North Carolina’s coast, Bev Perdue is like the Scarlet Pimpernel: She’s here, she’s there, she’s everywhere, that damned elusive Pimpernel. She’s gone from being 100% against drilling off North Carolina’s coast to saying (at the WRAL debate) that she wanted oil companies to start drilling – on sixty-eight million…
Read MoreAn email sent out internally by Pat McCrory’s campaign said it all: “It’s freezing in hell tonight!” The News & Observer endorsed a Republican for Governor. Maybe for the first time ever. Our old friend Mr. Conventional Wisdom says newspaper endorsements don’t matter. Do they matter when man bites dog? The McCrory endorsement is a…
Read MoreBuried deep within the story buried deep within the N&O today on early voting is the most important number in this election: 28 percent. That’s the African-American percentage of the turnout so far. That’s eight points above what most polls assume black turnout will be. That’s eight more points for Obama – and, potentially, the…
Read MoreNow it can be told. People have noticed that Governor Emeritus Jim Hunt seems to be everywhere this campaign: speaking at James Taylor’s concert, raising money for Kay Hagan, sending emails for Bev Perdue, campaigning across the state and – in his spare time – organizing Wilson County for Obama. Here is why: This election…
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‘8 in 10 Americans Say Religion Is Losing Influence in Public Life,’ the headline roared. The…
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The Kelly Daughtry-Brad Knott race shows how low Republicans will go in their pathetic pandering to…
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Leading Jesse Helms’ campaign back in 1990 Tom Ellis asked pollster John McLaughlin: ‘Who do we…
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