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Sunday Roundup ("Spoiler" Edition)
posted at 2008-02-24 13:21 | Last modified 2008-02-24 13:21
“One feels an obligation.”
Ralph “Unsafe at Any Speed” Nader announced on Meet the Press today that yes, he’s running for president this year.
Eight years ago, Democrats blamed Nader for the loss of Florida and hence the White House - Nader had about 29,000 votes, while the margin between Gore and Bush was less than 600. Nader pooh-poohed the notion that it could happen again in 2008, saying if the Democrats don't take this election in a landslide, they should dissolve the party and start over. (Hey, no pressure.)
If you want to watch the clip, it's here.
In the papers
The N&O launched a multi-part expose on the state’s mental health reform failures. The opening salvo is here.
Coincidentally (?), Mike Moseley, chief of the state’s Division of Mental Health, announced his retirement Friday. (Greensboro’s Mark Binker isn’t convinced it’s a coincidence, either.) Asheville’s Leslie Boyd had more on Moseley's tenure.
The N&O’s Rob Christensen looks into why Richard Moore isn’t gaining traction in the Dem gubernatorial contest. One reason might be stories like this: Dan Kane reports on a loophole at the Treasurer’s office that's paying off for two of Richard Moore’s fundraisers. Moore's office says no favoritism was intended--the fundraisers’ company has a contract with the state. But Kane found no record of a competitive bid for the contract.
Turnout was this weekend's other hot topic.
- Winston Salem’s James Romoser reported Friday that the presidential race is driving registration for NC’s primary through the roof.
- Over at the Char-O, David Ingram says activist groups are using the presidential race to leverage their own get-out-the-vote efforts. Bonus: a nice demographic breakdown of the new registrants.
Greensboro’s Mark Binker looks at how progressive activism and the “change” theme could influence the Senate primary battle between Jim Neal and Kay Hagan. As usual, Binker has even more on the story on his blog.
Wilmington’s Sam Scott and Gareth McGrath say attorneys for embattled State Rep Thomas Wright won’t give the House Select Ethics committee their witness list because it might give away their defense strategy for Wright’s upcoming criminal trial. The committee could decide Monday to give Wright more time to comply. But that might push back the panel’s next hearing, currently set for March 3rd.
But you knew that
Friday's poll numbers from Elon confirm James Carville’s timeless dictum: It’s the economy, stupid. NC voters say the economy is their top issue for the upcoming elections, especially at the presidential level, where Obama and McCain are both picking up ground like a Rototiller.
At the gubernatorial level, there’s no big surprise on the Dem side, where Perdue is holding steady at 12-or-so points over Richard Moore. There’s more movement on the GOP side, where McCrory has doubled his lead over his closest rival, Fred Smith.
Independent of contests, voters identified the top issues facing North Carolina as the three E’s = economy, education, and environment. The conservative trinity of immigration, taxes, and family values didn’t even make it into double digits.
It gets a little more complicated when you get more specific. When asked what issues will influence their vote in particular races, voters said:
President: Iraq War, Economy, Healthcare costs
Senate: Economy, Taxes, Health care costs
Governor: Taxes, Education, Economy
You can see the whole poll plus cross-tabs and methodology here.
For entertainment purposes only:
- Mike Huckabee poked fun at his own persistence last night on Saturday Night Live.
- Mind like water? More like a Post-It, maybe. NPR had this story on the high-tech/low-tech "life-hack" of GTD.
- My favorite weird story of the week: Concrete Jesus held for ransom over dachshund doo. You just can’t make this stuff up. Here’s the original story, which made it onto CNN, and here’s the denouement.
Comments? Drop me a line.
