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Tuesday: Talking Heads
posted at 2008-04-22 08:01 | Last modified 2008-04-22 08:25
Sorry no update last night – I was studying for a trip to DC today.
I’ll be making a brief cameo tonight on NPR’s special coverage of the PA primary, talking about what’s ahead for the candidates in NC. That airs 8-10 tonight on WUNC. Tomorrow, I’ll be on Talk of the Nation, looking at how the presidential race is affecting our state races. Or something like that.
Dem Debate: Gubernatorial
Unfortunately, I’ll miss tonight’s Moore/Perdue matchup on WRAL.
As late as yesterday afternoon, Moore and Perdue were still bickering over which TV station would host it. Perdue had previously committed to a WTVD event with a stricter format. But she relented yesterday, agreeing to join Moore for a looser WRAL roundtable. That’s at 8:00 tonight. More at Under the Dome.
It'll be interesting to see how Perdue navigates the line between toughness and negativity. Her “positive about NC” campaign seems to be working well for her, according to PPP’s Tom Jensen – their latest tracking numbers show her holding onto a nine-point lead over Moore.
The WTVD format would probably have made it easier for her to stay above the fray and focus on issues. But the WRAL event will allow for direct challenges between the candidates – and the level of rancor between them could make for a lively evening.
Dem Debate: Presidential
The NC Dems confirmed yesterday that there won’t be a presidential debate here in NC.
Obama had previously agreed to an earlier date, but Clinton said she couldn’t make it. Then Clinton agreed to a CBS-hosted event in Raleigh on the 27th , but Obama said he couldn’t make it. He didn’t sound very interested in rescheduling it, either, especially after last week’s ABC debacle. And a letter campaign from state leaders wasn’t enough change his mind.
So now it’s officially been called off. The party’s release is here. Most interesting line:
"While there was great interest in the debate, there were also growing concerns about what another debate would do to party unity."
(Hmmm. It’s hard to envision how another debate could do more damage than the blistering negativity of the campaigns themselves over the past few days. But what do I know?)
NC Dem officials will get another chance to hear from the candidates. The release says both Obama and Clinton will appear at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner May 2nd in Raleigh. Just not jointly.
Tar Heel ATM
It’ll be hard to move in this state for the next two weeks without bumping into a Clinton. But it might cost you.
Yesterday’s finance reports showed Obama raised twice what Clinton did last month. He’s got 42m on hand, while she’s got 9m - and overall, she's in the red by 1.5m. Coincidentally, upcoming schedules for Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea show a lot more fundraisers and paid events than on their past visits.
That makes a lot of sense. So far, the most recent numbers show NC donors have only sunk about 1.2m total into this race. It’s a safe bet there’s more money out there for the asking. So they’ll be asking - a lot.
More later from DC, I hope.
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