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Thursday: Face time
posted at 2008-03-13 23:07 | Last modified 2008-03-13 23:16
It’s up to her
The AP reports tonight that CBS is trying to schedule a Clinton-Obama debate in NC April 19th. He’s agreed; she hasn’t committed yet. (Oh please, oh please, oh please…)
Meantime, Obamania is expected to make landfall in NC within the next two weeks. In that light, it’s no big surprise that Bev Perdue joined her Dem rival Richard Moore today in endorsing Obama. Given that her core demographic closely matches Obama’s, the only question is why it took her so long. Maybe because it’s the Year of the Woman…up till now, anyway. Char-O's Jim Morrill has more on that here.
Moore column inches?
Richard Moore held a press conference today to announce his endorsement by Unite Here, a labor coalition probably best known for its representation of displaced Pillowtex workers in Kannapolis. The union isn’t all that big – five thousand or so members in the state – but it’s politically active and highly motivated, according to regional leader Harris Raynor.
Raynor also likened Moore to John F. Kennedy. It’s the first time I’ve seen Richard Moore blush. That clip’s here.
Moore had a lot to say today on other topics, too, like...
Perdue’s reluctance to agree to more debates;
Having lunch with Obama the day after his ’04 convention speech
And, maybe most interesting, how the national Dem primary might change his own race. An excerpt:
"Sure, there’s a different strategy. And there’s a different strategy because a whole lot more people are going to show up to vote. And if anybody can tell you exactly who those people are going to be or how they’re going to be reached, I’d love to talk to them. Because I think there’s going to be a lot of guesswork involved. But the one thing we know is that there’s going to be more excitement, more people coming to the polls, and I think that’s an awesome thing."
Unless they’re Perdue voters, of course…and they might be. Demographic patterns in other states’ Dem primaries indicate many of those new voters will likely come from Perdue’s core constituencies – women and African Americans.
On the other hand, Obama’s pull could end up helping Moore by attracting moderate unaffiliateds who might otherwise have asked for a GOP ballot. Moore does better than Perdue among unaffiliated voters. So even though his poll numbers are stagnant, it’s just too early to count him out.
Good day, Sunshine
From the Department of Irony: Easley declares Sunshine Day.
On a more serious note, the NC Open Government Coalition has released its Sunshine Week survey of 40 major statewide NC candidates. More on that here.
Meantime, NC GOP chair Linda Daves asked Atty General Roy Cooper today to open an investigation into potential violations of open records laws by Easley’s office. AG Spokeswoman Noelle Talley didn’t return my message (not that I’m bitter), but she did find time to get back to Dome:
“Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for Cooper, said the attorney general's office "has been examining these issues" since The N&O first raised the issue. She said that "comments now would be premature" because of the possibility of litigation over the matter.”
So is that a stock deflection, or a red flag? I don’t know. But it bears watching.
For fun:
Going through the motions: The N&O’s Ryan Teague Beckwith had this on last night’s GOP debate at WTVD. To his credit, he made it sound a lot more exciting than it actually was. Yes, I watched it - twice, even - and came away thinking all four contenders sounded competent but tired. (In all fairness, it WAS their second debate of the day.)
Bees’ Knees: The story I wish I could’ve covered this week – Wake Co. beekeepers successfully relocated a wild hive from an old oak next door to WakeMed in the 'Quay. If you haven’t been following the plight of bees these days, they’re in big trouble, and no one really understands why. I just loved this story. Thank you, Wade Rawlins.
As if Randy weren’t enough: No one can say Roanoke Rapids is averse to public humiliation. Sure, they’re down one drunken country singer, but they’re making up for it via reality TV. Dome has more here.
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