McCain and the press

I went by a Veterans for McCain rally today at Freedom Park, where about 50 vets listened to remarks from one of John McCain's fellow POWs and watched a video about the Arizona senator's war-time experiences.

Lee Teague, the chairman of the Mecklenburg County GOP, noted the handful of reporters in the room. He was surprised, he said, because he thought they were all traipsing around the world with Barack Obama.

Obama's trip to Iraq and Afghanistan has drawn more attention than similar trips by McCain. News anchors and big-name reporters are all aboard. It all lends itself to the kind of caricature of a media love fest that Saturday Night Live lampooned during the primary.

Now the McCain campaign is laughing back.

The campaign is staging a contest to see which of the two "The media loves Obama" videos people prefer.

"The media is in love with Barack Obama," a campaign statement said. "If it wasn't so serious, it would be funny."

Perdue doubles McCrory in fundraising

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bev Perdue has twice as much money in her campaign account as Republican Pat McCrory, after doubling his take in second quarter fundraising.

New reports show Perdue raised $2.3 million during the quarter to McCrory's $1 million. Perdue had $1.4 million on hand compared to McCrory's $700,000.

Perdue, the lieutenant governor, raised twice as much as Democrat Mike Easley had in 2000, when he also ran for governor the first time.

But McCrory's fundraising compares favorably to that of the last two GOP nominees, Patrick Ballantine in 2004 and Richard Vinroot in 2000. Both Republicans lost to Easley.

“We are very pleased with the strong support our campaign has received from across the state," said Richard Hudson, campaign manager for the Charlotte mayor. "He will have the financial resources necessary to win in November."

Easley sends plane for funeral guest

Former Republican Gov. Jim Martin got a free ride to Jesse Helms' funeral Tuesday -- courtesy of Democratic Gov. Mike Easley.

Easley's office offered Martin a ride aboard the jet the governor often uses on state business. Flight records show the Cessna Citation picked Martin up in Concord in the morning and flew him back after the funeral.

"I was happy to accept that, it saved a couple hours each way," Martin said. "I thought it was a nice gesture."

The two round-trips took less than two hours, according to flight records. The 8-passenger plane costs $770 per hour to operate, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Commerce, which owns it. Martin appeared to be the lone passenger.

Easley spokesman Seth Effron said the Democratic governor offered the plane "as a matter of protocol and professional courtesy to the former governor because this was a matter of state.”

Former Gov. Jim Holshouser also attended the funeral, as did other mourners from Charlotte.

Asked how taxpayers might view the trip, Martin said, "If taxpayers would object to that, it probably won't happen again. But I thought it was very thoughtful of (Easley)."

Obama, Helms and symbols

The crowd that came to hear Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Monday filed into a Charlotte middle school past an American flag flying at half-mast.

The flag was lowered to commemorate Friday's death of North Carolina's longtime U.S. senator, Jesse Helms.

Though plane trouble force Obama to cancel, the irony of the first black presidential nominee scheduling a visit to Helms' home state on the eve of his funeral wasn't lost.

"Sen. Helms represented ... views and perspectives that were wrong-minded, that represented the last century," Jennifer Roberts, chair of the Mecklenburg County commissioners, told the crowd. "We are moving from a politics of division to a politics of unity and the future."

After days of retrospectives about Helms, the Washington Post today re-ran a column that political columnist David Broder wrote about the senator on the occasion of his 2001 retirement announcement.

ISO convention bloggers

Are you a Carolina blogger planning to attend either the Democratic convention in Denver or the Republican convention in Minneapolis?

If so, let me know. Both parties plan to accommodate bloggers. For possible stories, we'd like to get in touch.

Let me know by posting here or emailing jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com.

New NC polls: Good news for both parties

The good news for Republicans in two new polls: Their candidates are ahead.

The good news for Democrats: But not by that much.

A new poll by the conservative Civitas Institute shows Republican presidential candidate John McCain and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole leading opponents Barack Obama and Kay Hagan. Republican Pat McCrory is virtually tied with Democrat Beverly Perdue in the governor's race.

But in a state George W. Bush twice won with 56 percent, Obama trailed McCain by only four points in the poll. Hagan trailed Dole by 10.

A poll of voters in the 10th Congressional District by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling shows GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry leading Democrat Daniel Johnson 49 percent to 38 percent.

But McHenry won the heavily Republican district in 2006 with 62 percent of the vote to 38 percent for his Democratic challenger.

PPP also found McCrory with a 25-point lead over Perdue in the district.

Turnout was so low that ....

Of the 2,200 people eligible to vote in Mecklenburg County's Precinct 141, only one showed up for Tuesday's Democratic runoff for labor commissioner.

Turnout was a dismal .84 percent throughout the county. Statewide it was under 2 percent.

At least the lone voter in Precinct 141, at the University City library, didn't have to stand in line. Neither did the single voter in Precinct 28 or, for that matter, in any of the county's other 193 precincts.

In the commissioner's race, Mary Fant Donnan walloped John Brooks 86 percent to 14 percent in Mecklenburg. Statewide she won with 68 percent.

Donnan faces Republican incumbent Cherie Berry in November.

Burr blasts Obama on energy

Speaking for Sen. John McCain's campaign, Sen. Richard Burr today called Democrat Barack Obama's energy proposals "ludicrous."

"I'm not sure he’s done anything but mirror the inaction of the Democratic leadership in Congress," said Burr, an N.C. Republican.

Burr joined McCain's energy adviser in an afternoon conference call with reporters. They spoke as McCain, campaigning in California, called for greater energy efficiency. The candidate appeared with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who opposes offshore oil drilling, which McCain supports.

Burr said he supports McCain's call to end a federal moratorium on such drilling and let states decide whether to allow it off their coasts.

"I leave it up to the people of North Carolina, to the leadership of North Carolina," Burr said. "I hope they feel a responsibility to do what I think technologically can be done with very little risk."