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Thurs: Get the Popcorn...
posted at 2008-09-18 22:44 | Last modified 2008-09-18 22:56
...'cause it's ON.
Barack’s back in NC Sunday for a Charlotte rally. That’s after his wife’s "roundtable tour" here today and Joe Biden’s visit last Sunday. Add that to this week's $300K budget for NC TV ads, and it doesn't take a math wiz to figure out Obama might just mean it when he says he thinks NC's in play. There’s no way we’d be seeing all three of them inside of eight days if that weren’t the case.
Today's CNN poll and yesterday's AP piece makes this seem savvy, even if history doesn’t agree. Tar Heels haven’t backed a Dem for president since 1976. Can Obama break a 32-year streak? Downticket Dems sure hope so -- including Senate hopeful Kay Hagan, who showed up in the Triad today to appear with the would-be First Lady.
Trading shots
Republican Auditor Les Merritt took the unusual step today of releasing an “interim report” about an investigation by his office. Merritt says staff at the state Ethics Commission tried to block his investigation into whether Democrat Bev Perdue got special treatment.
According to the N&O’s Dan Kane, Ethics Commission ED Perry Newson says it’s political. The Ethics Commission filed a lawsuit last month to have the probe moved out of the Auditor’s office to a different agency.
It’s pretty unusual for the Auditor’s office to release a report before there are findings. When someone doesn’t cooperate, it usually just goes to court. So what’s different this time, aside from Merritt’s tough re-election fight in six weeks or so? A court case would’ve likely stretched beyond the election –and it probably wouldn’t have gotten as much press, either.
Four of Five
Gov candidates Republican Pat McCrory and Dem Bev Perdue meet again Friday morning for #4 in their series of 5 scheduled televised debates. Tomorrow's event takes place at 10:30am at the SAS campus in Cary. The topic is education. News 14 will carry it live, but if you can't tune in tomorrow morning, it'll be recorded for rebroadcast all over the state this weekend. Here in the Triangle, you can catch it on UNC-TV at 10pm Fri.
Libertarian Mike Munger won't be in attendance tomorrow. (He wasn't invited.) He will, however, share the stage with McCrory and Perdue for their final TV debate at WSOC in Charlotte on October 15th. Personally, I can't wait. Whatever your take on Munger's politics, he's wicked smart. I'm betting the final debate will be a whole lot more informative - not to mention entertaining - than the Munger-less first four put together.
Comments? Drop me a line.
