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Sunday: Head to head x 2
posted at 2008-06-22 13:13 | Last modified 2008-06-22 17:11
The big news of the weekend was Saturday’s double-header at Atlantic Beach. The NC Bar Association's annual meeting featured back-to-back forums for the US Senate and Governor’s races.
The N&O had wall to wall coverage by Rob Christensen and Ryan Teague Beckwith. Christensen had nice reports on each forum, while Beckwith did a fantastic job of liveblogging it all, plus a sidebar on McCrory’s Andy Griffith slam and a Senate debate fact check.
Greensboro’s Mark Binker focused on the Hagan/Dole matchup:
"The two women running for U.S. Senate stretched a rhetorical olive branch across the partisan divide during a debate Saturday — and then proceeded to smack each other with it."
More color and a lot more detail here.
The AP’s Gary Robertson wraps up both panels in one comprehensive story. W-SJ’s James Romoser took the same approach, with some nice parallels, too.
(N.B.: Both forums were televised, but you'll have a hard time finding them unless you're
a Time-Warner subscriber. Here's hoping TW posts them online. )
Random observations
I was on the media panel asking the questions, so I wasn’t really “covering” it. I’ll refrain from re-reporting what’s already been ably covered by my colleagues. But here’s my take:
Senate:
A highly entertaining draw. (Who says we’re the “gentler sex”?) Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) proved she hasn’t lost a step on the campaign trail, while state Sen. Kay Hagan (D) proved she can match Dole step for step. This is gonna be one heck of a race.
Hagan went first. She looked like she belonged in the crowd of lawyers at the beach on Saturday: sporty gray-and-pink suit, light makeup, no hose, slingbacks. Her performance registered well with the audience, too – she came across as down-to-earth, confident, smart, and most of all scrappy, which she’ll need to be to pull this off. She came out swinging and never let up.
Dole looked like she was headed for a Beltway mixer: olive-green suit with chunky accessories, TV makeup, hose and heels. Her performance, too, was distinctly grande-dame – dignified, confident, witty, and impeccably prepared. Make no mistake: she’s still a rock star, and she has no qualms about taking the gloves off, either. She's going to be tough to beat.
Governor:
An even tougher one to call. From what I saw, I’d say Mayor Pat McCrory (R) had the edge on presentation, but Lt. Gov Bev Perdue (D) had more detailed answers. This one’s gonna be one heck of a race, too.
Perdue went first. She looked crisp and humidity-proof in a black pantsuit and white blouse (great accessories, BTW). Her performance was a little uneven – she seemed nervous at the start and her voice wavered a bit - but she warmed up fast answering the questions. She’s clearly comfortable with the details of her platform. She came across as smart, genuine, and approachable.
McCrory looked a little rumpled, as he often does, yet tanned and relaxed. (Bonus: a great tie that matched the backdrop. Was that planned?) He seemed totally at home at the podium - confident, relaxed, and funny, but with an aggressive edge under the jokes. He came out strong, but floundered at the finish of a few answers, some of which were noticeably short on detail.
The audience seemed to respond better to McCrory. But then, it was more his crowd than Perdue’s, anyway. One of McCrory's big platform issues is fixing the judicial system - higher pay for judges and DAs, more funding for prisons and crime control, etc. He knew it would play well to that crowd, and it did, though Dome notes some in the audience didn’t think he’d done his homework.
Overall, I thought both forums were good. It's always more fun when everybody brings their A-games.
Otherwise...
- Char-O eds take a swing at the state Senate for last week's land transfer tax vote.
- The N&O’s Rob Christensen explains why NC isn’t more union-friendly.
- The AP’s Whitney Woodward says House lawmakers are worried that parks’ public records are a little too open.
- The N&O’s Martha Quillan looks at poor conditions at the NC Zoo.
- Carolina Beach charter boats are taking a hit from high gas prices, according to Wilmington’s Vicky Eckenrode.
Comments? Drop me a line.
