Gary On the Air

If you’re up at 7 a.m. Sunday and desperate for entertainment, listen to Don Curtis and me on “Carolina Newsmakers” on WPTF. We about covered the waterfront on politics: redistricting, money, Governor Perdue and the legislature, 2012, etc. The show will also be available at www.carolinanewsmakers.com.

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Politics as Usual

The other morning on one page of the newspaper Governor Perdue (or rather the Perdue administration), pleading hard times, announced the Department of Health and Human Services will no longer pay for eye exams, and eyeglasses and dental care to Medicaid patients. On top of that times are so hard the department’s also limiting physical…

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Obama’s Last Chance?

President Obama better connect this time.   His much-hyped economic speech next week may be his last chance.   For all his strengths, Obama has one great failing: He hasn’t been able to forge an emotional connection with the American people since the election.   He did it during the campaign by fulfilling a yearning…

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A Call From 60 Minutes

Back in 1985 I got a call from George Crile a producer at 60 Minutes who said he and Mike Wallace wanted to come to Raleigh to interview Tom Ellis and me.   I thought, An interview with 60 Minutes – what’s the difference in that and sticking your head in a lion’s mouth? I…

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The Blind Date Syndrome

Overnight Rick Perry has soared from unknown to Republican frontrunner; — it’s reminiscent of four years ago when another unknown appeared out of nowhere, soared into the lead in the Democrat Primary, then rolled straight into the White House.   Now, Rick Perry – Governor of Texas, Air Force pilot, rugged cowboy – is the…

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Get Your Data Dump

A new issue of North Carolina DataNet, published by the Program on Southern Life at the UNC J-School, is available now. Click here for a link to the report.   The focus is what report calls the “metropolitanization’’ of North Carolina’s population, and the impact that has on the state’s economy, culture and politics.  …

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