Heard on the Street Posted: Thursday, October 16th, 2008 A call for help
Each October we ask our friends to help us in our efforts to cure juvenile diabetes, a terrible chronic disease affecting over 1 million young people and my grandson, Hart Rivers. We have agreed to be part of the Walk for a Cure on November 1 at RTP, where much of the research is being done. We have a goal of $1,500 this year and my family will match dollar for dollar all donations. Please help us reach that goal. To donate please click here:
Thanks in advance for your support.
He said, she said
Wednesday night’s debate was the first time we’ve had the chance to see all three candidates for Governor on the stage at the same time. Viewers across the state were trying to determine who looked the most like a governor. The wrangle between Pat McCrory and Lt. Governor Perdue continued. Most agree there was little new added to their stump speeches and no game changers for either. Both sides claimed victory. It wasn’t particularly good TV, either from the production values of the show or the content from the two main candidates.
It you had to pick a winner from the threesome it would be Libertarian Mike Munger. First of all, he actually answered the questions being asked. Not only that, but he had specific responses for what he would do if elected. And best of all, his answers were brief. He answered the question asked and didn’t try to tie in other pre-rehearsed unrelated dogma. He offered the only new ideas heard during the debate. Whether you like his approach or not you came away knowing Munger opposed capital punishment, favors same-sex marriage, favors illegal immigrants being allowed to attend public colleges and wants the federal government to get out of public schools. Munger doesn’t stand a chance of winning this election but he performed very well and demonstrated he is a serious candidate.
To hear more from Mike Munger be sure to catch this week’s NC SPIN. John Hood, Chris Fitzsimon and Tom Campbell devote the entire show to Munger and ask him the questions you want answered on this three-on-one special edition. Next week the same time will be devoted to Republican Pat McCrory. Democrat Perdue refused the invitation to appear.
Latest PPP polling
U.S. Senate:
Kay Hagan (D) 46%
Elizabeth Dole (R) 44%
Christopher Cole (L) 5%
Dole’s TV ads are finally moving the meter with voters as she scorches Hagan for her tax increases. But the ad that really appears to be winning is the one where Hagan appears uncertain and unable to answer on positions of the economic crisis. “Let me get back to you” isn’t a suitable answer to voters.
Governor:
Beverly Perdue (D) 45%
Pat McCrory (R) 44%
Mike Munger (L) 4%
This one is going to the wire. Internal polling shows Perdue doing poorly in most regions of the state. The major daily newspapers of the state, in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem have endorsed McCrory. We hear Greenville will do the same. The N&O hasn’t endorsed, but they haven’t picked a Republican for Governor since dirt. The Obama surge looks like Perdue’s best bet.
By the way, Perdue had a BIG fundraiser Monday night at Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh. We hear she raised $530,000….one of the biggest single money events in state history. Longtime Democratic supporter Jeanette Hyde and Perdue’s former chief of staff Kaye Gattis headed the event.
Don’t be surprised to see Andy Griffith back on the air for Perdue any day now. He was a game changer for Mike Easley, certainly helped boost Perdue in the primary and we can expect old Ange to come riding in at the last minute for Perdue.
Treasurer:
Janet Cowell (D) 44%
Bill Daughtridge (R) 41%
Daughtridge has started on TV with a small schedule but will it be enough?
(To learn more about how important this race is to our state be sure to read My Spin “The Most Important Election Nobody Knows About”)
Labor Commissioner:
Cherie Berry (R) 45%
Mary Fant Donnan (D) 41%
Donnan’s big hope is the Obama surge.
Insurance Commissioner:
Wayne Goodwin (D) 43%
John Odom (R) 33%
Mark McMains (L) 10%
Goodwin is running a grass roots campaign and getting help from Jim Long’s supporters. He is pulling away from Odom.
I’m voting for Joe the Plumber
The third and final presidential debate Wednesday night likely changed few minds. If the national polls are accurate, Barack Obama leads McCain by 10 points nationwide. As the underdog, McCain needed a game-changer. Most agree he didn’t get it, although a wide consensus believes it was his best performance of the three sparring matches. McCain was on the attack all night. Obama mostly played defense. But he did well in parrying McCain’s jabs without getting rattled or speaking out of turn.
McCain’s best moments came when he told Obama that he wasn’t George Bush and that if Obama had wanted to run against Bush he should have done so four years ago. He also repeatedly mentioned Joe the Plumber, the guy Obama met on the campaign some days ago who didn’t like his tax plan. McCain talked about him so frequently that this reporter almost decided to vote for Joe. Not Joe Sixpack, but the plumber guy.
Early voting underway
We will get a preview of the size of this year’s turnout pretty soon, as early voting begins Thursday across the state. Election officials are bracing for large crowds.
TV Stations want more
One interesting note to this year’s election cycle is that you hardly see anything but campaign ads on TV, which is pretty unfortunate because most of them are depressing, negative attack ads. Down ballot candidates are surprised to learn there are still TV avails this late in the campaign. They aren’t having much trouble getting on the air because the economy is taking a big toll on broadcasters just as with newspapers. When elections end, we will begin seeing lots of public service ads and promos. Let’s hope they are more positive.
Who will control the Senate?
John Davis, longtime head of NC FREE, got lots of free publicity (just what his new consulting business wanted) last week when he boldly speculated that Republicans could win the Senate for the first time in over a century. Listing a dozen or so races, most all with Democratic defenders, Davis said the current 31-19 split of Democrats to Republicans could end up being controlled by the R’s. Folks we’ve talked with predict that the outcome will more likely be 26-24 for Democrats. That’s still a close margin for leadership and might prompt some changes in the Senate. We have reported rumblings that Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand may have overstayed his welcome and there are Democrats eager to replace him. Leading the revolt will be Martin Nesbitt from Buncombe County. Possible replacements being mentioned are Dan Clodfelter (Mecklenburg) or Malcolm Graham (Mecklenburg).
Marc Basnight, Senate President Pro Tem has been in power since 1988, longer than any political figure in our state’s history. He appears poised to win another two year term.
We continue to hear rumors that if Bev Perdue wins the gubernatorial race and Basnight and Rand hold onto control in the Senate, the state will be essentially run by the State Senate and those making these claims are not happy about the prospect, citing last year’s Senate performance as an example of what we might expect.
Treasurer addresses state finance
Amidst all the angst and turmoil of the financial markets, the biggest problems appear to be a crisis of confidence. Citizens are hard pressed to name a sector of our culture, be it government, business, churches, or nonprofits in which they place their faith. Leaders of these sectors have, in the main, been very quiet and have not made statements to try to reassure or calm the panic-like conduct of the day. It was refreshing in this void to have State Treasurer Richard Moore call a press conference and tell North Carolina where we stand regarding public pension funds and state cash balances. The picture wasn’t pretty. Pension funds are down some 12 percent from last year. At their peak the pension funds under management amounted to some $78 billion. On September 30th this year the amount was $66 billion, having dropped $6 billion since June. And these numbers don’t reflect the plunge the markets have taken since October.
But Moore had PowerPoint documentation and reported that our investments are doing better than many retirement accounts. He reassured current and retired government employees that their benefits are safe and checks will be forthcoming as usual. He answered questions from the media and calmly and confidently reported to people. It was the right tone and the right thing to do. There has been a deafening silence coming from the Capitol Complex in Raleigh.
College plan losses worrying
Much attention has been paid to retirement and other investments but little has been said about the state’s 529 plan, better known as the College Foundation of North Carolina. Reports for the third quarter of this year have just been received by parents who have been sending money each month for their young people’s prospective college education. These reports showed not only losses in gains but many were alarmed to learn they had less money in their accounts now than they had deposited, creating further fears about college affordability. Should they continue to send their monthly deposits? Should they withdraw what they have already invested? What are the prospects? Many worried parents are asking questions and want answers.
Editorial comment:
Stop Hiding and Start Leading
This is no time for leaders to hide. We, the public, can accept and deal with reality so long as we know we are being told the truth and we have honorable people doing their best to make the most of situations. We cannot accept silence from those who are supposed to lead us and we will not tolerate uninformed and incompetent leadership. Most of us acknowledge we are walking on new ground and don’t expect our leaders to have all the answers or even get it all right the first time. But we want accountable leadership telling us what is going on. In the absence of this we will make up our own realities…and they are often worse than the truth. It is time for leaders to stop hiding and start leading.
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