One-Termer
2013-08-29 - by
There is growing talk in Raleigh – by Republicans and Democrats – that Governor McCrory will be one and done. And he’s not going to the NBA.
The consensus, which could always turn out wrong, is that he’s over his head. Some people even say he won’t run again. The job isn’t what he expected, they say. It’s hard work, the spotlight can be brutal and he didn’t count on that.
Democrats sense weakness. He looks emasculated by the legislature, befuddled by the challenge of managing his Cabinet and flummoxed by how to handle controversies like the $87,000-a-year salaries for inexperienced, 24-year-old ex-campaign aides. (That’s four times I mentioned it this week!)
Part of all this, to be blunt, is a skepticism about McCrory’s intellectual depth. Not to knock a liberal arts degree from Catawba College, but it’s not a law degree (Jim Holshouser), a chemistry Ph.D. (Jim Martin) or economics, masters and law degrees (Jim Hunt).
With all due respect to indifferent students (like myself), being Governor requires a certain level of intellectual rigor, the mental stamina to master a mass of material and the ability to think critically.
McCrory invited the scrutiny of his academic and intellectual credentials when he suggested that stories about economics are too complex for reporters. Actually, it was the first thing he ever said I agreed with. I know they’re too complex for me.
But his griping betrayed defensiveness and a thin skin that cause political pros, who are a brutal and cold-blooded lot, to smell blood in the waters. Not to mention needlessly irritating reporters.
If the legislature comes back and overturns his vetoes, he will look even weaker. Once that perception sets in, it can prove hard to shake. McCrory is at a critical point. Does he recognize it, and can he change the story line?
Posted in General, North Carolina - Republicans
One-Termer
2013-08-29/
There is growing talk in Raleigh – by Republicans and Democrats – that Governor McCrory will be one and done. And he’s not going to the NBA.
The consensus, which could always turn out wrong, is that he’s over his head. Some people even say he won’t run again. The job isn’t what he expected, they say. It’s hard work, the spotlight can be brutal and he didn’t count on that.
Democrats sense weakness. He looks emasculated by the legislature, befuddled by the challenge of managing his Cabinet and flummoxed by how to handle controversies like the $87,000-a-year salaries for inexperienced, 24-year-old ex-campaign aides. (That’s four times I mentioned it this week!)
Part of all this, to be blunt, is a skepticism about McCrory’s intellectual depth. Not to knock a liberal arts degree from Catawba College, but it’s not a law degree (Jim Holshouser), a chemistry Ph.D. (Jim Martin) or economics, masters and law degrees (Jim Hunt).
With all due respect to indifferent students (like myself), being Governor requires a certain level of intellectual rigor, the mental stamina to master a mass of material and the ability to think critically.
McCrory invited the scrutiny of his academic and intellectual credentials when he suggested that stories about economics are too complex for reporters. Actually, it was the first thing he ever said I agreed with. I know they’re too complex for me.
But his griping betrayed defensiveness and a thin skin that cause political pros, who are a brutal and cold-blooded lot, to smell blood in the waters. Not to mention needlessly irritating reporters.
If the legislature comes back and overturns his vetoes, he will look even weaker. Once that perception sets in, it can prove hard to shake. McCrory is at a critical point. Does he recognize it, and can he change the story line?
Posted in General, North Carolina - Republicans