Rankings, rasslin' and a survey

New effectiveness rankings for N.C. legislators are giving ammunition to at least one Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.

Greg Dority says he'll use rival Robert Pittenger's ranking against him. Pittenger was ranked 49th in the 50-member Senate by the non-partisan N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, which bases its rankings on surveys of lawmakers, lobbyists and reporters.

"If a guy can't hack it in the state senate, what makes him think he is qualified to be Lieutenant Governor?," Dority said in a statement.

The rankings are skewed to Democrats, who control the General Assembly. Only four Republicans, for example, cracked the top 25 most effective senators.

"95 percent of all legislation passed is by democrats," Pittenger wrote in an email. "They don't allow republicans to passed their legislation. Condidering the (partisanship), I was very effective."

Here's how Charlotte-area lawmakers ranked:

SENATE (50 members)
3. David Hoyle, D-Gaston
4. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg
6. Walter Dalton, D-Rutherford
9. Fletcher Hartsell, R-Cabarrus
18. Charlie Dannelly, D-Mecklenburg
37. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston
42. Eddie Goodall, R-Union
43. Malcolm Graham, D-Mecklenburg
45. Austin Allran, R-Catawba
49. Robet Pittenger, R-Mecklenburg

HOUSE (120 members)
17. Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg
20. Drew Saunders, D-Mecklenburg
24. Martha Alexander, D-Mecklenburg
37. Joe Kiser, R-Lincoln
41. Jeff Barnhart, R-Cabarrus
48. Debbie Clary, R-Cleveland
53. Beverly Earle, D-Mecklenburg
56. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland
61. Karen Ray, R-Iredell
62. Linda Johnson, R-Cabarrus
75. Pete Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg
85. Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg
89. Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba
92. Ruth Samuelson, R-Mecklenburg
95. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg
101. Bill Current, R-Gaston
103. Mark Hilton, R-Catawba
107. Wil Neumann, R-Gaston
109. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg
115. Jacob Blackwood, R-Union
117. Jim Gulley, R-Mecklenburg

------ 'WOOOO!' Myrick

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick got up in Congress recently and talked about wrestler Ric Flair and his "dreaded Figure Four Leglock." She also tried his trademark yell. Check it out.

----- NYU Survey

New York University student Matthew Schottland asked for help on a survey aimed at "understanding voting behavior from a psychological perspective." It's funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

To take the survey, click this link.

Bob Johnson: Ferraro right on Obama

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama wouldn't be leading his party's presidential field if he were a white freshman senator, Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson said Monday.

Johnson's comments, in interviews with the Observer, echoed those former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro made in March.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," she said, just before the resulting firestorm forced her to step down as an adviser to Obama rival Hillary Clinton.

"What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant (is) if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called 'Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote? And the answer is, probably not.

"Would he also start out with the excitement of starting out as something completely different? Probably not. He would just be a freshmen senator ...

"Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is Geraldine Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair trigger on anything racial. It is almost impossible for anybody to say anything."

N.C. presidential debate finally set?

Sen. Hillary Clinton has accepted an invitation to debate in North Carolina on April 27. The debate will be held in Charlotte or Raleigh.

Her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, hadn't responded to the invitation but had agreed to an earlier request to debate in the state.

“We had proposed a debate in North Carolina before the 22nd of April," said Obama spokesman Dan Leistikow. "Apparently, the Clinton folks vetoed that. We haven’t made a decision whether the later date fits into our schedule.”

The N.C. Democratic Party and CBS News today formally invited the candidates to debate either at the N.C. Blumenthal Center in Charlotte or at N.C. State University.

The move comes weeks after CBS proposed an April 19 debate in the state. The Obama campaign accepted. The Clinton campaign never committed.

The proposed debate would come four days after the Pennsylvania primary and 10 days before North Carolina's contest.

"We're working closely with both the campaigns, and while we don't have commitments yet we're very hopeful and excited about the possibility of a debate in North Carolina," said state party spokeswoman Kerra Bolton.

The invitations, signed by party chairman Jerry Meek and CBS News President Sean McManus, come a week after a group of Charlotte-area college presidents invited the candidates to debate at the Blumenthal.

Obama HQ opening draws 700

State Sen. Malcolm Graham thought he had an idea of what to expect when he helped open Democrat Barack Obama's Charlotte headquarters Thursday night.

"I went there expecting 50, 60, 70 people," he says. "And 700 showed up."
Lines wrapped around the headquarters on Elizabeth Avenue in the Elizabeth neighborhood as people broke into groups devoted to voter registration and other areas.

Getting 700 people to any political event, let alone a headquarters opening, is unusual, to say the least.

"I've never seen a grassroots movement take hold like that," Graham says. "It was just amazing to sit back and watch."

Charlotte is one of 13 Obama campaign offices across the state. Campaign officials say more than 3,000 people attended recent openings in nine communities.

Hillary Clinton coming to N.C. Thursday

Sen. Hillary Clinton will visit Raleigh, Fayetteville and Winston-Salem Thursday. She's scheduled to deliver an economic policy address in Raleigh.

Her visit, the first of the primary campaign, will come a day after rival Barack Obama visits Greensboro. Here's the schedule from her campaign:

-- Wake Technical College, Raleigh: Doors open at 9 a.m. Clinton delivers an address at 10:30.
-- Terry Sanford High, Fayetteville: Doors open at noon. Clinton speaks at 1:30
-- Forsyth Technical Community College Gymnasium, Winston-Salem: Doors open at 4 p.m. Clinton speaks at 5:30.

All events are free and open to the public. No tickets are required.

Obama coming to Greensboro

Sen. Barack Obama coming to Greensboro Wednesday, his second visit to the state in a week.

As he did in Charlotte last week, Obama will hold a town hall meeting. This one will be at the War Memorial Auditorium in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Lee St. Doors open at 11 a.m. for the 1 p.m. program.

The event is free and open to the public but space is limited. For tickets, check out the campaign web site. You can also pick them up at The Atrium at UNC—Greensboro, 1000 Spring Garden St.

The Obama campaign also is opening a headquarters this week in Hickory.

Politics and wedding bells

Some men ask a woman's parents for her hand in marriage. Jerry Meek had to check with her campaign manager as well.

Meek, North Carolina's Democratic Party chairman, has become engaged to Tricia Cotham, a Democratic legislator from Charlotte.

Meek, of Fayetteville, got down on one knee when he popped the question Friday night at a cabin in Bryson City. He planned the weekend get-away only after clearing the schedule with Cotham's campaign manager.

Cotham, 29, is the state's youngest legislator. Meek, 37, is one of if not the nation's youngest party chairman.

The two started dating last summer, a few months after Cotham won a special election to fill the seat of disgraced Speaker Jim Black. Now she faces a primary on May 6 and, if she wins, a Republican challenge in November.

All that, plus the General Assembly's schedule, makes it hard to set a wedding date.

"So I have a little different things to think about than the average bride," she said this morning.

The romance, which the two kept secret for months, may explain his frequent recent appearances in Charlotte as much as his role in resolving the recent local party turmoil.

Cotham says she plans to continue living in her district, which covers east Charlotte and part of Matthews. She also has an apartment in Raleigh where Meek works as chairman.

Clinton postpones Charlotte visit

There's no luck 'o the Irish for Charlotte supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Former President Bill Clinton was expected to visit for a fundraiser on Monday. Invitations had already gone out for the St. Patrick's Day fundraiser at the City Club.

Now Clinton is scheduled to visit Friday April 4. That's about a month before North Carolina's May 6 primary. Organizers are still working on a time and place.

"We had a scheduling issue with the president," says Mark Erwin

Campaign officials say they had pledges of more than $100,000. Now, with more advance notice, they hope to raise more. Tickets are still expected to go from $250 to $2,300.

"We'll still have a $250 level for folks, which is very unusual for people to come see the president of the United States for $250," Erwin said.

Caught in a crossfire (a real one)

East Los Angeles is a long way from east Charlotte, but that's where Democrat Lloyd Scher went as part of his campaign for the N.C. House.

A former Mecklenburg County commissioner, Scher is running against Rep. Tricia Cotham in the Democratic primary. She's made anti-gang legislation a top priority in Raleigh. Scher says he would too.

Two weeks ago, his research took him to East L.A. There, he says, he drove through a gang-infested neighborhood with an L.A. cop. They sped to a call where a member of the Avenues gang had been shooting at police with an AK-47. When they got there, another jumped up and started firing a handgun. A third gang member took hostages.

The first gunman was killed by police. The second one was shot and arrested. While Scher waited in a mobile command post, the third was arrested after a 7 1/2-hour hostage ordeal.

"It was scary, I will tell you that," said Scher. "But I'm glad it was because it showed me how dangerous the gang situation is. And if we don't do something now, we could be facing this in Charlotte."

He said he's also visited with police in New York and Chicago. He and Cotham are running in District 100 that covers east Charlotte and Matthews.

Saunders fires first shot at Mackey

State Rep. Drew Saunders has come out swinging in his Democratic primary against Nick Mackey.

"I have no desire to be a Policeman, Judge or Sheriff," Saunders wrote in a news release. "I am running for this office to represent the people of the district, not because I am mad that I cannot be Sheriff.

"My opponent has been held in contempt of court because he would not represent one person in the court room. If he did not represent one person in the heart of Charlotte, how can we expect him to represent 67,000 people while working out of the State Capitol in Raleigh?"

Mackey filed in Saunders' House District 99 Friday. In December he won a party election to fill a vacancy for sheriff, only to have the vote overturned after the state party found rules had been broken. In 2006, he ran unsuccessfully for district court judge.

In January, Mackey, a lawyer, was convicted of contempt of court after failing to show up for the client's December trial.

Mackey declined to respond to Saunders.

"I don't stoop to that kind of mudslinging so I don't have any comment," he said today. "I’m not going to be baited into some back-and-forth mudslinging with him. We’ll debate the issues and that's that."

Saunders, a six-term legislator, has never had a primary. He said today that he'll run an aggressive campaign.

"I need for (Mackey) to know that it’s going to be a race," he said. "I can’t lay down and give him my seat just because he’s disappointed he didn't get the sheriff’s race."

The winner faces Republican Dempsey Miller.

Ford-McElroy race for Dem chair?

Two men who promise to heal the party hope to be elected Mecklenburg County's new Democratic chairman tomorrow night.

Joel Ford, 39, and Pender McElroy, 69, are both running for the job that David Erdman left a month ago. Erdman's resignation came after the party's messy election of Nick Mackey as sheriff, an election later overturned by the state party.

"There's a leadership void right now in the party and we need a unifier," says Ford, a paving contractor. He's been active in the party and ran for Charlotte City Council in 2005. He was a 2004 fellow with the N.C. Institute of Political Leadership.

McElroy is a Charlotte lawyer whose party involvement has come more with financial support for candidates than in grassroots politics. Records show he's given more than $31,000 to local and state candidates since 1992 and $9,500 to federal candidates. That includes $1,000 to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Members of the Mecklenburg Democratic executive committee meet tomorrow night at Piedmont Open Middle School to elect a new chairman. Other candidates may emerge.

Meck Dems closer to a new chairman?

Mecklenburg's Democrat Chairman Pat Patton, who's 89, had a pacemaker installed this morning. But she was still working the phone from her hospital bed, even if her daughter had to hold the receiver to her ear.

She and others have been working to find a new chairman by the time the party's executive committee meets Wednesday night. And finally, at least two people have expressed interest.

One is Pender McElroy, 67, a lawyer with James, McElroy and Diehl. The other is Liz Johnson, 51, who chaired the party back in the '90s. Both say they want to heal wounds caused by the rifts and embarrassment over the botched process to pick a new sheriff.

Party chairman David Erdman stepped down earlier this month, leaving Patton acting chairman.

Did Edwards miss his chance?

If Democrat John Edwards wanted to make a meaningful endorsement in the presidential race, he may have missed his chance.

It was three weeks ago that Sen. Hillary Clinton came courting at Edwards' Chapel Hill home. Sen. Barack Obama followed later. But Edwards has kept his counsel, and stayed silent on which of the two he prefers. Some of his supporters -- and donors -- have said they're waiting to follow his lead.

But Clinton and Obama face crucial primaries Tuesday in Ohio and Texas. If Clinton loses one or the other, or doesn't do well enough to score a majority of delegates, her campaign is all but over. If you want an endorsement to make a difference, time is running out.

That's why another erstwhile rival, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, endorsed Obama today in Cleveland.

Coast suddenly clears for Kissell

After coming within 329 votes of winning in 2006, Democrat Larry Kissell became the favorite of a lot of Democrats in Washington and in the 8th District. Now he's getting help from some would-be challengers and his party's establishment.

Just Sunday, Charlotte lawyer Chris Kouri called Kissell and told him he won't run against him this year. Kouri ran against Hayes as the Democratic nominee in 2002. "I don't think it's any secret that I've looked at running in the 8th District," says Kouri, adding that he's now fully behind Kissell. He wouldn't elaborate on why he changed his mind.

Another Democrat who planned to run this year is John Autry, a liberal activist who lost to Kissell in 2006. After campaigning for much of the past year, he says he's sitting this race out for health reasons.

Meanwhile, party leaders are coming to Kissell's support at a March 19 fundraiser. Every Democratic member of Congress from the Carolinas -- including Reps. Mel Watt, John Spratt, Jim Clyburn and Heath Shuler -- have signed on as co-sponsors of the event at the home of Charlotte investor Mark Erwin.

And Democratic strategist James Carville headlines a Kissell fundraiser in the Triangle on March 29.

"Everyone has been so supportive of Larry," spokesman Steve Hudson said. "They're just determined not to let this race slip the national party’s fingers again."

McCain advisor: NYT story a 'bump'

Yesterday's New York Times story on John McCain's links to a Washington lobbyist created a media and political firestorm. But for the presumptive Republican nominee, it was just a "bump in the road," says a top adviser.

"It’s behind us and we’re going to keep moving," for the presumptive Republican nominee, says Charlie Black, a native Charlottean, told us today.
The article has created as much buzz over how it was done and its timing as for its suggestions that McCain, who prides himself on his independence from special interests, may have gotten too cozy with lobbyists.

The Times got over 2,400 online comments about the story, most negative. Today it took the unusual step today of answering some. "We anticipated that it would provoke at least a brief media firestorm — and that our efforts to put Mr. McCain's relationship with a lobbyist in a bigger context would probably get lost in the retelling," executive editor Bill Keller wrote in response to some comments.

At least for the time being, the article had McCain's conservative critics rallying around him.

"Some of our conservative friends who aren't always strong McCain supporters were out there defending him," Black says.

Edwards' partner helping Obama

Sen. Barack Obama is still looking for John Edwards' endorsement, but he may be getting a little closer.

Obama's campaign has a fundraiser scheduled this noon at the Raleigh offices of Edwards' former law partner, David Kirby. Kirby is in a trial this morning and won't be able to atttend, an aide said today.

But no one has been closer to Edwards than Kirby. The two opened their law firm in 1993 and practiced until Edwards went to the U.S. Senate six years later. They're good friends and sit together at Carolina basbetball games.

Edwards has met recently with Obama and his rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton. Both candidates would love his endorsement. But so far at least, Edwards has held his cards close. Some of his friends have already made their choice.

Helms: Keeping the door open?

I know that Democrat Parks Helms, a Mecklenburg County commissioner and former legislator, has said he won't run for re-election. But I wouldn't necessarily take that to the bank.

Helms said again today that his wife Eleanor really wants him to call it quits after more than 30 years of late-night meetings and other demands of public office. But you can tell he's not sure that's what he wants to do.

"I have to say I'm having withdrawal pains right now," he told me. "I probably will not run for the county commission. I have to say 'probably' because you never say never. I've had too many people call me and say, 'You have got to run'."

Not exactly Sherman-esque.

"My concern is if the control changes to Republican, it's going to be a Bill James agenda. And I wonder if that's what people want."

Stay tuned.

'24-7 public records' coming to Meck?

Presidential candidates all file their campaign finance reports electronically. (That's why you can search for your friends or neighbors on the Observer's searchable database of presidential contributors.) But for local candidates, it's always eben a different story.

But one that may start changing.

Candidates for county commissioner and city councils all file paper reports that are filed away at local elections boards. To look at them, you have to go down and literally pull them out of a file drawer.

Now Mecklenburg County's elections director, Michael Dickerson, is trying to put the reports online. They wouldn't be searchable by contributor, at least at first. But they'd be available for review with Adobe Reader. That could start with the next reports filed by local candidates in April.

"It makes it a 24-7 public records office," Dickerson says. And that's a good start.

The only state candidates who file electronically, by the way, are those who raise or spend more than $5,000. Legislative candidates don't have to turn in electronic reports.

McCain's S.C. running mate?

Two South Carolinians should be on John McCain's short list for running mates, according to an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal.

S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford or U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint would both be good choices for McCain, writes Pat Toomey, a former GOP congressman and president of the conservative Club for Growth, an anti-tax group which has been critical of the Arizona senator.

Sanford, Toomey says, "has demonstrated a commitment to economic conservatism. And DeMint, who led Mitt Romney's campaign in the state, would bring his own strong conservative credentials.

"When it comes to fighting government spending in Washington," Toomey says, "Mr. DeMint can be found on the frontlines."

The Club for Growth has said McCain's overall record "is tainted by a marked antipathy towards free markets and individual freedom." It ran TV commercials against McCain's rival, Mike Huckabee, criticizing him for raising taxes as governor of Arkansas.

Will Jordan help lead Meck GOP assault?

Remember Hal Jordan? He's the Republican who came within 30 votes of unseating then-House Speaker Jim Black in 2006. Black, who later would go to prison on corruption charges, was hobbled by scandal that November. But Jordan won in what was still an overwhelmingly Democratic district.

Now he's considering a run for an at-large seat on the Mecklenburg board of commissioners. He would join incumbent Dan Ramirez on an at-large ticket that would try to take advantage of Democratic disarray and retake control of the board.

Democrats, particularly board chairman Jennifer Roberts, have been hurt by the mess over selection of a new sheriff. A lot of Democrats are angry over a process that first elected Nick Mackey, an African American, then invalidated his election and saw the installation of his rival.

A lot of African Americans, who make up about half the county's registered Democrats, have threatened to retaliate at the polls.

So here's a question: How much do you think the sheriff's fiasco will affect the race for county commissioner?

The other South Carolina campaign

His primary may be over, but S.C. Republican chairman Katon Dawson has another election in sight. And not just in November.

He's one of a handful of state party leaders being mentioned as the GOP's next national chairman. Party officials won't choose a new chairman until June of 2009, and Dawson is careful not to be too blatant in his interest.

"We’re not actively running at this time, and it wouldn't be proper," he said today. However, he added, "I'd always be interested."

For months, the S.C. party has sent reporters a daily digest of political news. At the top are media references that mention or quote Dawson. And in the weeks before the Jan. 19 primary, it was a long list.

It may not hurt Dawson's chances that the party's nominee influences the selection of a chairman, especially if that nominee becomes president. And if Sen. John McCain wins the nomination, he could owe South Carolina a favor for keeping his early momentum going.

Dawson and other S.C. Republicans like to point out that since 1980, everybody who's won their primary has gone on to win nomination. If it's McCain, that 28-year streak will continue.

"Looks like it's going to be close to 32 next time we brag about it," Dawson says.

Flying 'Republican air?'

South Carolina Republicans are bringing more than GOP presidential candidates to the state this week. They're bringing the people who cover them.

State Chairman Katon Dawson will fly aboard a chartered Boeing 727 to Manchester, New Hampshire, tomorrow morning and bring back some 80 journalists who will cover Thursday night's GOP debate in Myrtle Beach.

Dawson said the journalists are each paying around $391 but acknowledged the party is subsidizing the trip. He says passengers include journalists from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN and Fox News.

"We understand that it's important to have the media covering the event," he says. "We’re just glad to have them in South Carolina and we’re gonna do interviews all the way back."

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: Geting loud

DES MOINES -- Democracy has turned noisy here in Precinct 71.

Clinton backers started chanting "Hill-a-ry! Hill-a-ry!"

Edwards' supporters matched it with shouts of "Ed-wards! Ed-wards."It's like an ACC basketball game.

Obama's people are shouting "We need Biden! We need Biden."

Edwards' people got creative: "We're gonna take the White House back. No more lobbyists. No more PACs!

Now the chairman is giving arm-twisters from Obama, Edwards, Clinton and Biden a minute at th mike to make their pitch.

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: First score

DES MOINES -- With 554 voters divided into groups around the school gym, here's the count of supporters of each candidate:


Obama: 231

Clinton: 103

Edwards: 103

Richardson: 38

Biden: 46

Dodd: 3

Kucinich: 13

Gravel: 1

Uncommitted: 16

The top three candidates are "viable." No one else is. Not the "realignment" or wooing period starts.



Now the fun starts.

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: Dividing into groups

DES MOINES -- Ok, they took a count (by playground rules: raising hands and counting off.) The official count is 554. What that means is a candidate needs 83 people to be "viable."

Now they've formed into groups. Obama, Clinton and Edwards' supporters -- the largest -- in gthe bleachers. The second-tier candidate groups oare on the floor. And they're counting off again. If somebody fails to make the magic 83, the horse-trading begins.

In 2004, John Kerry led after the first count. Then, after supporters of the non-viable candidates went elsewhere, Edwards ended up winning.

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: Here we go

DES MOINES -- The caucus in Precinct 70, Des Moines' largest, has officially begun. The chairman has called things to order (and passed around an envelop for contributions to offset the costs). Now they're counting people the old-fashioned way: having people count off.

The unofficial count: 623. In 2004 there were 360.

And that doesn't count the dozens of kids sitting on the floor in a corner of the gym.

Overheard from a John Edwards caucus leader: Obama has a LOT of people here.

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: Lines out the door

DES MOINES -- So much for schedules.

The caucus was supposed to start a half-hour ago, at 6:30, but voters keep coming. Lines were out the door all the way to the street. Caucus chair Jeff Goetz told somebody there could be 600 people here. In 2004, there were 360.

John Edwards won the precinct that year, barely ahead of John Kerry. Speculation has been that the more newcomers, the better for Barack Obama. He's expected to attract a lot of first-time caucus-goers like Justin Green, a 39-year-old bio-chemist (and former North Carolinian).

"He seems to be someone who can change the way things are done," says Green. "Bring people together. Give people hope."

UPDATE: Chairman just gave 5-minute warning.

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: The wooing starts

DES MOINES -- Silver-haired Bill Smith, in his brown Bill Richardson T-shirt, is standing by the bleachers when his son T.D. walks over to introduce Beau Biden.

T.D. is a Biden supporter. Beau Biden, son of the Delaware senator, does a little flirtation with with Smith. If you folks don't have enough support, he suggests, come to us. Under the arcane math of the caucuses, candidates have to have enough support to be "viable." If they fall short, their supporters go elsewhere. That's when the serious wooing starts. Beau Biden's visit was like a first date.

Smith, 63, is keeping his options open. He's not sure what the Richardson group will do, if they do anything. Heck, he can't even keep his family together.

While T.D. is a Biden guy, son Tyson is caucusing for Chris Dodd. And Smith's wife Jeanie is going for John Edwards. Politics is the family sport.

"It's what we do here," he says. "When we don't have the Winter Olympics in Iowa, this is what we do."

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: Edwards camp gathers

DES MOINES -- Leslie Pomerantz staked her place in the first row of the bleachers here at the gym. She came equipped with a John Edwards poster, buttons, stickers and a list of 150 names of supporters she expects to show up.

Pomerantz, a 64-year-old retired teacher, is Edwards' precinct co-captain. You wouldn't mistake her. She's got a half-dozen Edwards buttons plastered to her black sweater, including one of Edwards as Superman. Forty minutes before the caucus kicks off, a handful of other Edwards fans gather around her.

When Pomerantz was a teenager, she worked for John Kennedy's campaign. Now she compares the two.

"He just made you feel optimistic," she said of JFK. "I have not felt that until John Edwards."

LIVE CAUCUS BLOG: C Minus 90

DES MOINES -- The activity is picking up at Merrill Middle School, site of at least three precinct caucuses tonight. Volunteers in Precinct 70 have set up chairs in the gym ("Home of the Mustangs"). A CNN camera stands ready in the corner. A handful of Clinton supporters have staked out turf in the bleachers, marking it with a tall 'Hillary' signboard.

The action starts in a little less than 90 minutes. In 2004, this precinct had 360 caucus goers, second highest in the state, according to Sally Troxell, whose husband is the caucus chair. This time she's betting -- literally -- on even more.

"I'm guessing 650," she says in the hallway, where registration tables are being set up.

She's in a pool with a few other volunteers. So far the highest estimate is 735.

Riding on the outcome? A dime prize.

Edwards starts early

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Democrat John Edwards got an early start on a long day today with a morning rally at a cold Des Moines union hall.

Hours after speaking to around 3,000 people at a rally featuring singer John Mellencamp, Edwards made his way to the stage in a room packed with about 200 supporters and journalists.

In a voice hoarse from a 36-hour campaign swing through southern Iowa, he sounded optimistic about his chances in tonight's caucuses.

"There is an energy and momentum behind this campaign that cannot be stopped," he shouted, prompting chants of "Go John Go!"

After the quick visit, the N.C. Democrat headed off to stops in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. Edwards plans to return to Des Moines for what he hopes is a victory rally before flying overnight to New Hampshire.

Cashing in on a win

DES MOINES -- What's the value of a win in tomorrow night's Democratic caucus?

At least $2 million a day, according to Joe Trippi, a senior strategist with John Edwards' campaign.

That's how much Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry took in after winning the 2004 caucuses. Trippi says Edwards, the second-place finisher that year, collected about half that. And Howard Dean's contributions essentially dried up after a third-place finish, according to Trippi, who ran Dean's campaign.

"For us, the big issue after Iowa is money," Trippi says.

Of course, money isn't all that's riding on tomorrow's results. Trippi estimates a win is worth at least 10 points in support heading into Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

Night owl campaigners

AMES, Iowa -- Here's a quiz: If a presidential candidate campaigns through the night in the middle of one of Iowa's coldest winter nights, will the media follow?

Answer: Apparently.

Democrat John Edwards began what his campaign calls a 36-hour marathon Tuesday with a noon stop at Iowa State University in Ames. He plans to continue with stops across Iowa, from the Nebraska border to the Mississippi, all through the night and all day Wednesday, ending that night in Des Moines.

Why?

"It's about sending a really clear message to people about how hard this guy is going to fight," said senior advisor Joe Trippi.

More than a dozen journalists were following on a bus, some with hotel pillows. More local media was expected at the tiny towns he planned to stop in.

"When somebody wakes up in that (TV) market, they're going to see that somebody was there at 4 a.m., campaigning for their votes, fighting for their votes," Trippi said. "And that's how he's gonna fight for them when he's president."

Crunch time in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Like other presidential candidates, Democrat John Edwards of North Carolina has mobilized a small army in the run-up to Thursday's caucuses.

Spokesman Dan Leistikow said the campaign is trying to reach voters in every precinct in each of the state's 99 counties. There are more than 1,000 canvassers and 51 phone banks manned by hundreds of volunteers.

The campaign has 25 field offices, 15 more than in 2004. It has more than 175 paid Iowa staff compared to about 100 four years ago.

Edwards himself has spent 87 days in the state, slightly more than Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York. He's stumped in every county, far more, according to the campaign, than his top rivals.

Edwards' campaign also has a small fleet of all-terrain vehicles ready to get its supporters to the caucuses.

Said spokeswoman Colleen Murray: "In the end it doesn't matter unless you get people out to caucus for you."

Cooter, Edwards and rural voters

SPENCER, Iowa -- Democrat John Edwards has a new traveling companion as he stumps through rural northwest Iowa today -- "Cooter."

Former Georgia Congressman Ben Jones, who played the tow-truck driving "Cooter" on the old "Dukes of Hazard" TV show, joined the campaign for its swing to small towns spaced between the snow-covered fields of this part of the state.

He's part of the campaign's concerted effort to appeal to rural voters, who because of the particular calculus of Thursday's caucuses, could have a disproportionate impact on the outcome.

Here, as at other stops, voters watched a DVD that features Jones and Edwards' rural adviser "Mudcat" Saunders as well as Edwards' parents from Robbins, N.C. It taps into Edwards' background in rural North and South Carolina.

"As we say back home, he ain't got above his raisin'," Jones told about 200 people packed into a community college room.

"We're supposed to be the people's party," he told another audience this morning. "John Edwards understands that. He comes from the heartland."

Elizabeth Edwards sells electability

BOONE, Iowa -- While Democrat John Edwards sticks to his new street fighter stump speech, he's left it to his wife Elizabeth to sell voters on his electability, reaching back to his 1998 Senate victory in North Carolina.



He won in a red state, she tells audiences, and "beat the Jesse Helms machine" in defeating Republican Sen. Lauch Faircloth.



Elizabeth Edwards implicitly criticizes 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, who chose her husband as his running mate. But the campaign, she says, didn't compete in "red" states such as North Carolina, Kansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma, not airing a single ad.



Each of those states, she says, has elected a Democratic governor.



"You have no chance to win a football game if you don't show up," she told more than 400 people here. "Every place you give up you give up to Republicans. John won't do that."



****



On NBC's "Today Show" this morning, John Edwards denied suggestions that his campaign is finished if he doesn't win or show strong in Thursday's caucuses.



"We have great energy and momentum here," he said from a Storm Lake hotel. "And this message (of fighting for the middle-class) will resonate every single place in America."

Edwards: An "epic fight"

CARROLL, Iowa -- Democrat John Edwards, once the sunny populist, continued to cast himself as a combative fighter ready for what he called the "epic fight" against corporate influence.

Four days before Thursday's caucuses, Edwards is appealing to Iowans fed up with "corporate greed." On a sunny Sunday, he rode his bus caravan through western Iowa, drawing around 400 people to the small town of Boone and nearly 300 to a school library in Carroll.

At each stop he railed against corporate profits at Exxon and the influence of drug and insurance companies. "America doesn't belong to them, it belongs to us," he said.

Edwards told Iowa voters that he knows how to fight.

"I grew up in some rough neighborhoods," he said in Boone. "Where I grew up you had to fight to survive." He said his father told him never to start a fight but "never to walk away."

"We have a battle on our hands and better face up to it," he said.

******

N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is in Iowa campaigning for Edwards. She said she planned to knock on doors to urge voters to caucus for him.

Edwards to pull all-nighter

DES MOINES, Iowa -- John Edwards' campaign calls it a "Marathon for the Middle-Class." It's more like a sprint.

After a two-day swing through northwest Iowa that starts today, on New Year's Day the N.C. Democrat begins a 36-hour race through the state. That includes a midnight visit on Tuesday to the home of supporters in Atlantic, a 2:15 a.m. visit with supporters in Creston and a 5:15 a.m. pancake breakfast with backers in Centerville.

Two hours later, he starts a day-long trek that ends Wednesday night in Des Moines with a rally featuring singer John Mellencamp.

One rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, stepped up his implicit criticism of Edwards over the weekend, saying he had fundamentally changed positions in the last four years.

Donor gives $495K to pro-Edwards effort

WASHINGTON, Iowa -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Saturday he has "absolutely no control" over a $495,000 donation a wealthy philanthropist made to a group that supports him.

News reports said Rachel Mellon gave the gift to the Alliance for a New America, an independent group helping Edwards. The so-called 527 group is not subject to federal campaign financing limits.

The group is spending a reported $1.7 million on radio and TV ads in support of Edwards in Iowa, whose Thursday caucuses kick off the 2008 campaign. The Alliance is headed by former Edwards adviser Nick Baldick. Coordination between such groups and campaigns is against the law.

Rival Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has criticized such efforts to help Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.

Edwards has made a point of saying he doesn't take money from lobbyists or special interest political action committees. Saturday he repeated his call for the Alliance to stop its ads. Asked if he would push for the return of Mellon's donation, he said, "I have absolutely no control over that."

"I call on them (the Alliance) to stop what they're doing."

As a vice presidential candidate in 2004, Edwards called on President Bush to force a 527 group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth to take down ads attacking Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

"Mr. President, the clock is running," Edwards said at the time. "The American people deserve to hear from you. And they deserve to hear from you that these ads will come down."

In a call, Edwards warns Musharraf

TIPTON, Iowa -- Democrat John Edwards Friday detailed more of his conversation with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf hours after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Speaking to about 60 people in a downtown restaurant, Edwards said he called Pakistan's ambassador to the United States shortly after hearing about Bhutto's death. A couple hours later, he said, he got a call from Musharraf, whom he had met several years ago during a visit to Islamabad.

"What I said to him was, number one, this democratization has got to continue," Edwards said he told the president. He also told him to let international investigators in to probe the killing.

Edwards said the U.S. should encourage Pakistani elections, which may be delayed because of Bhutto's assassination. He said America should re-evaluate its aid. News reports have said much of the aid has been spent not to fight extremists but to arm Pakistan for any potential war with its Indian neighbor.

And Edwards found room to criticize President Bush.

"Unlike President Bush, America should not be engaged with Pakistan unilaterally," he said. "This needs to be a multi-lateral approach."

Elizabeth Edwards hits the trail

VINTON, Iowa -- Elizabeth Edwards and her three children flew from Raleigh to snowy Iowa today to join her husband's final push to Thursday's caucuses.



Edwards traveled over snow-packed roads to speak to around 30 people at a nursing home in this tiny town. Her first campaign appearance since before the holidays came in part to show people she's still up to it. Earlier this year she was diagnosed with incurable cancer.



"I think people actually need to see me, that I'm healthy," she told a reporter.



She's undergoing treatment for the cancer and showed a bruise-like spot on her wrist where she's been injected. Other than "a few side effects," she says, she's feeling fine. She didn't seem to lack energy, answering questions in Vinton in her usual quick-paced style.



She called the Iowa campaign a "dogfight" and said she plans to join her husband for the duration. In Vinton, she posed for pictures and handed out autographs.



"She's awesome," said Sonia Kach, 42. "She'd make a wonderful First Lady."

Edwards" "It's close"

WATERLOO, Iowa -- Snow is falling in this corner of Iowa this morning, and several inches are expected before the day's over. It's the corner where Democrat John Edwards is scheduled to campaign today. Yesterday, his "Main Street Express" bus got stuck in the ice in nearby Waverly.

There are six days until Thursday's caucuses, the contests that jump start the presidential race for both parties. A lot of voters -- about a third according to one TV poll -- are still trying to make up their minds. The candidates and their supporters know they have to step it up.

Last night at a Waterloo high school, actor Danny Glover, bleary from a snow-delayed day of travel, mustered enough energy to fire up a crowd for Edwards, who was fired up himself, railing against "corporate greed" and Washington lobbyists.

Later, as Edwards rode an elevator to his room at the Country Inn and Suites, I told him he'd seemed more pumped up that usual.

It's almost over, he said of the caucus campaign. "And it's close."

Bishop: Goodbye but no mea culpa

It’s not often a politician admits he’s not effective. But that’s what Mecklenburg County commissioner Dan Bishop says in explaining why he won’t run again next year.

Bishop, 43, is calling it quits after two terms representing south Charlotte’s District 5. he was part of a Republican minority.

"It’s a good idea for people who have these district seats to move up or out," he says. "And I don’t think I’ve been terribly effective as a member of that board. I’m not saying ‘mea culpa’ really. But the things I’d like to see accomplished I’m not seeing done.

"I’m just saying another Republican might be able to lead Republicans to a majority.’

Plus, he says, four years in politics goes a long way.

"I’ve had a good dose," he says.

John Edwards: Box office boost?

Al Gore won an Oscar. Will John Edwards?

Edwards' campaign, with a boost from actor and supporter Kevin Bacon, released a video "movie trailer" today in the runup to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.

It features images of corn fields and flags and against a Spielberg-like score, a narrator dramatically invites viewers to watch one man "restore the promise of America."

"On Jan 3 a candidate will rise," he intones. "A party will unite. And a nation will be redeemed. Starring John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, Cate Edwards and introducing Jack and Emma Claire Edwards."

The campaign calls the trailer "a new organizational tool to drive undecided caucus goers and supporters to the campaign’s Caucus Command Center."

McCrory inching closer?

For years Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory has said he's keeps the door open to higher office. Today he cracked the door a little further.

In an e-mail to supporters, McCrory disclosed the results of statewide polling he's done on the governor's race. According to him, they showed him beating not only the three Republicans who've been running for months but Democratic candidates as well.

"A strong majority (of voters) believe the state is on the wrong track," he wrote, "indicating the status quo in Raleigh does not reflect the views and values of North Carolinians. Now, I plan to go through a serious decision-making process and self-assessment to help me determine if I should run for governor. Our state has an incredible opportunity for new leadership, but before I make my decision I need and welcome your feedback."

McCrory has until late-February to decide. That's when filing closes.

Edwards: "I'm the strongest"

During a conference call with reporters today, John Edwards talked about a new CNN poll that shows him as the only Democratic presidential candidate leading major Republicans in hypothetical match-ups.

The CNN poll showed:

Democrat vs Giuliani; Romney; McCain; Huckabee
Clinton 51-45; 54-43; 48-50; 54-44
Obama 52-45; 54-41; 48-48; 55-40
Edwards 53-44; 59-37; 52-44; 60-35

"We’ll make certain that caucus-goers in Iowa and primary voters in New Hampshire and the other early states are aware of all the evidence ... that I'm the strongest candidate in the general election," Edwards said. "What the CNN poll shows is exactly that."

************

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama today picked up the endorsement of former S.C. Democratic chairman Joe Erwin.

"People want a change," Erwin said. "And they want a candidate who is not so much about partisanship but about making government work for people."

Is GOP real winner in sheriff's election?

Last night I ran into a lifelong Democrat I've known for years, a Yellow Dog if there ever was. She said she and her husband are thinking about taking a drastic step: changing their registration to independent. The reason is last week's election by Mecklenburg Democrats of Nick Mackey as the new sheriff.

Mackey is the candidate who beat acting Sheriff Chipp Bailey, who was hand-picked by former Sheriff Jim Pendergraph. With the help of a voting system weighted under party rules, Mackey won overwhelmingly.

But just as overwhelming has been the criticism, both of him and the process. Like my acquaintance, a lot of Democrats are among those turned off by Mackey's record. He left the police department a few years ago after being suspended without pay after what sources described as a probe that found he put in for hours he didn't work. He later filed for bankruptcy. Letters to the editor and online message boards are full of criticism.

Before the election took place, Democratic county commissioner Parks Helms proposed a plan that would have stripped the new sheriff -- whoever it was -- of responsibility for jail administration. The idea was roundly shot down. Now Democrats are even less likely to embrace it.

John Minter, a former Observer and Charlotte Post reporter who advised Beverly Earle's mayoral campaign, sent this to commissioners this week:
"Changing the rules in the middle of the game will only reinforce the assumption by many African Americans that 2007 is not much different from 1907, when poll taxes and other ruses often were used to stifle black political influence. Most of you owe your very positions to loyal black support at the polls. The attempt to pull an end run around black voters now will break bonds that have put Democrats in control of local Mecklenburg County and Charlotte City governments. What will be the reward for black voter loyalty?"

Republicans have no base among African American voters. Their candidates for county commissioner in 2008 could run on what would amount to an anti-Mackey platform, pledging to hire a professional jail administrator and strip the sheriff of those duties. That would leave Democrats in what many would consider the uncomfortable position of defending a sheriff whose debut, at least, has been rocky.

Republicans would only need two of three at-large seats to retake the county board.

What do you think?

Oprah envy?

Two days before Oprah Winfrey helps Barack Obama pack Columbia's Williams-Brice Stadium, some of John Edwards' supporters wanted to make one thing clear: Not every black South Carolinian will be in the seats.

"We don't need politicians to do publicity stunts or get notoriety because of a star, we need somebody to come and say what you’re going to do about our educational systems and our seniors," Spartanburg City Council member Linda Dogan said today.

Dogan made the comments during a conference call the Edwards' campaign set up with reporters and a half-dozen black supporters.

A campaign spokeswoman said the timing was unrelated to the Obama-Oprah event, or to Democrat Hillary Clinton's endorsement last week by representatives of 50 black church groups in Spartanburg.

"We hope people are going to vote for John Edwards' policies over Barack Obama's celebrity friends," said spokewoman Teresa Wells.

But California labor leader Tyrone Freeman, who was also on the campaign's call, had a different take.

"Let's be very honest," he told reporters. "You all are the reason for the timing because you've given unjust coverage of what's happening. All of us here would do this call every week if we could get your attention and time. It's only now we could get your attention because of the Oprah phenomenon."

Moore poaching McCrory's turf?

Some blue-chip contributors are raising money for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore, right in the backyard of a possible rival.

Moore is holding a fundraiser Monday in Charlotte's Myers Park neighborhood. That's not far from the home of Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, who's apparently weighing his options for a gubernatorial race.

The list of hosts for the fundraiser includes at least a half-dozen McCrory contributors including banker Amy Brinkley, investor Nelson Schwab and businessman Tom Nelson.

Whether or not McCrory runs, the fundraiser could be bad news for the three Republicans already in the race and hoping to tap Charlotte money.
The list includes people known more for contributing to Republicans than Democrats.

Among them: attorney Russell Robinson, retired bankers Cliff Cameron and Hugh McColl Jr., philanthropist C.D. Spangler and businessmen Chuck Hood, Rusty Goode and Charlie Shelton. For good measure, Moore's also lined up Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson.

His campaign hopes to raise at least $100,000.

Moore is running against Democrat Beverly Perdue in the primary.

Edwards digs Hillary's 'plants'

Democrat John Edwards has launched a new Web site that takes digs at questions planted for rival Hillary Clinton by her campaign.



The site, called plantsfor hillary.com, mocks the questions that were planted for Clinton at at least two appearances by the New York senator. It features a photo of an oversized potted plant and instructions labeled "Spotting a Hillary Plant: A Field Guide."



The "guide" includes tips such as, "Questions begin 'what is your superfantastic solution to'..." and "You see folks carrying a small binder of 'Safe and Approved Questions for Hillary.'"



Edwards' aides say the site is tongue-in-cheek. But it's the campaign's first Web site to go after a rival Democrat and continues Edwards' drumbeat of criticism on Clinton.



Clinton's S.C. spokesman Zac Wright said the campaign won't "deign to comment" on the site.

Edwards: Stretching presidential power?

When it comes to health care, John Edwards is promising to play hardball with members of Congress. The problem is, they might not play.

The former N.C. senator launched a new ad Tuesday in Iowa, where he's locked in battle with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama with barely seven weeks to go before the state's crucial caucuses.

“When I’m president," he says in the ad, "I’m going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration, including my Cabinet: I’m glad that you have health care coverage and your family has health care coverage. But if you don’t pass universal health care by July of 2009 — in six months — I’m going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you. There’s no excuse for politicians in Washington having health care when you don’t have health care."

Clinton's campaign called the proposal "unconstitutional."

"That's not the way we're going to get universal health care in America," spokesman Phil Singer said. "We'll get universal health care by electing someone who has the strength and experience to actually get it done -- Hillary Clinton."

Edwards' campaign, which has been upping its attacks on Clinton, gleefully responded by saying, "she defends health care for politicians while millions of Americans and their families go without care."

But how would Edwards take away congressional health care? After all, he can't do it by executive order.

A spokesman said a President Edwards would have legislation introduced and, in effect, dare Congress not to pass it.

"If any member of Congress wants to argue that they should have health care while the American people don't, he should find a new line of work," said spokesman Eric Schultz. "When he’s president, John Edwards is going to demand accountability from Congress and he’s going to get it."

As for the constitutionality, Schultz cited the opinion of University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein, an Obama adviser quoted in a Politico blog.

"If legislation is introduced and Congress enacts it, that's fine,"
Schultz quoted Sunstein saying.

But Sunstein went on to call the Edwards' plan "a stunt."

"Congress isn’t going to enact legislation taking away its own health care," he said.

Charlotte mayors' statewide: 0-6

If Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory runs for statewide office, he'd try to do something none of his four predecessors did - win.

McCrory, who was just re-elected Tuesday to a seventh term, says he's keeping the doors open to a statewide run. But every Charlottte mayor for the last three decades has walked through that door, only to have it slam in their face. Some more than once.

Success in Charlotte doesn't necesarily translate across North Carolina, as these mayors found out.

Richard Vinroot, 1991-95
He lost a 1996 Republican gubernatorial primary to Robin Hayes. He won the 2000 nomination but lost to Democrat Mike Easley.

Sue Myrick, 1987-91
She lost the GOP’s 1992 U.S. Senate primary to Lauch Faircloth. Elected to the U.S. House in 1994.

Harvey Gantt, 1983-87
He won Democratic Senate nomination twice, in 1990 and 1996. He lost twice to Republican Sen. Jesse Helms.

Eddie Knox, 1979-83
He lost the 1984 Democratic gubernatorial primary to Rufus Edmisten. Edmisten, by the way, went on to lose to Republican Jim Martin.

Martin, who, though not a mayor, had been a Mecklenburg County commissioner. But he claimed his lake house made him an Iredell County resident.

Edwards rips Clinton on YouTube

John Edwards began running his first ad on TV stations in Iowa this week. It's called "Heroes" and pays homage to working Americans. It doesn't mention any of his rivals.

Not so with another ad that also began this week. It's called "The Politics of Parsing" and takes direct aim at New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. It airs solely on YouTube.

The second ad splices pictures of Clinton from Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia giving seemingly contradictory answers to questions about Iraq, Social Security and immigration. To underscore the point, the "Blue Danube" waltz plays in the background.

Like other candidates, Edwards has used YouTube videos before to showcase an ad. But this is the first one that's offered direct criticism of a Democratic rival. It continues a drumbeat he began even during the debate of accusing Clinton of "double-talk."

Edwards' ad is a response to one Clinton's campaign posted YouTube ad after the debate. It's called "The Politics of Pile On."

"Four years ago, John Edwards told voters that if they wanted someone to attack other Democrats, he wasn't their guy," Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said Saturday. "As his poll numbers continue to slip, he's unfortunately become that guy."

As of Saturday, Edwards' video had already been viewed more than 143,000 times. That's not bad reach for an ad that's essentially free to produce and post.

"Those aren't 143,000 people in Iowa or New Hampshire," says Andrew Taylor, a political scientist at N.C. State. "But it's still a pretty cost-effective way of getting a message across."

Edwards' spokeswoman Colleen Murray said YouTube offers "an innovative and immediate way to communicate our message."

"In this case, it immediately showed voters that this wasn't about the 'politics of pile-on,'" she said. "It was about Senator Clinton practicing the 'politics of parsing.'"

Bush challenger takes on Myrick

During an appearance in Charlotte 18 months ago, President Bush may have regretted calling on a man who'd raised his hand in the balcony at Central Piedmont Community College.

"I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened, by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency," Harry Taylor told the president. "And I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself."

Taylor's public scolding of the president made news around the world. It brought him interviews on network news shows and made him a darling of the liberal blogosphere. He prompted one blog called simply: thankyouharrytaylor.org.

Now the Charlotte businessman plans to run for Congress against Republican Rep. Sue Myrick.

Taylor's formal announcement is scheduled for mid-November. But a message from him is posted on the Democratic Web site BlueNC.

"I am not a politician, nor have I ever sought to become one," he writes. "But now, I am so seriously concerned about what is happening to our beloved America, I have decided to run for the U.S. Congress.
We face a very divisive partisan incumbent who has been a rubber stamp for Bush's policies on such issues as Iraq and children's health care. Success will take enormous effort, and I cannot do it alone. Simply and honestly, I need your help!"