John Edwards: He's No. 1 (in unpopularity)

Democrat John Edwards can now claim a singular distinction -- the lowest approval rating of any N.C. politician.

Eleven years after they elected him U.S. senator, only 19% of N.C. voters have a favorable opinion of the former presidential candidate, according to Public Policy Polling,a Democratic-leaning firm in Raleigh. At 69%, his unfavorables are the highest the firm ever recorded.

Though PPP has only been in business since 2001, it's a pretty safe bet that no other N.C. politician has ever had worse numbers than the candidate who cheated on a wife with cancer.

Elizabeth Edwards, despite dredging up her husband's scandal in a new book tour that raises questions about her own involvement in her husband's cover-up, was viewed positively by 58% of the voters in the poll.

Former Charlottean Alex Sink may run for governor -- of Florida

A decision by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to run for the U.S. Senate could open the door to the governor's mansion to a former Charlottean.

Democrat Alex Sink was the first woman elected statewide in Florida in nearly a decade when she was elected the state's chief financial officer in 2006. She also was the first Democrat elected to the state Cabinet since 1998.

Crist is expected to announce Tuesday that he'll run for the Senate. Sink has told supporters that if he does, she'll run for his seat next year. Emily's List, a group that supports women candidates who favor abortion rights, Monday asked supporters to back Sink.

In 2002, Sink's husband, Bill McBride, beat former Attorney General Janet Reno in a primary but lost the governor's race to Republican Jeb Bush.

A Mount Airy native, Sink came to Charlotte in the 1970s for a job with N.C. National Bank, now Bank of America. She became president of the Charlotte Women's Political Caucus and a rising star in the banking world.

The bank transferred her to New York and later Florida, where she ended up running all the bank's operations until retiring in 2000.

She has another claim to fame: She is the great-granddaughter of Chang Bunker, a conjoined twin born in Thailand, then Siam, in 1811. He and his brother Eng were the original "Siamese twins." They settled in Mount Airy and married sisters from Wilkes County.

Edwards' book mystery: Who is 'Jim'?

In Elizabeth Edwards' new book, "Resilience," she scorns her husband's former mistress (Rielle Hunter, whom she refuses to name). But she brushes another former campaign worker with the same brush, calling them both "pathetic."

Edwards compares the mistress with a young man who first volunteered in John Edwards' 1998 Senate campaign. She describes him as "John's obsessed fan."

"I will call him Jim," she writes.

Jim "volunteered for everything," drove the candidate around, washed his car, took care of his dry-cleaning. "There was no job too menial for Jim," she said.

Jim and his wife, who worked a late shift, would leave McDonalds breakfasts outside the Edwards' door until Elizabeth told her to stop. Jim's obsequiousness got to Elizabeth until a lie on his part finally forced his departure from the campaign. But he hung around. He tried to vacation where they vacationed and sent daily emails to the Edwards' friends.

"The existence of a Jim made it easier to accept the existence of this woman," Elizabeth wrote. "...My life at some level is tragic. Theirs is worse; theirs is pathetic."

Campaigns, particularly those as intense as John Edwards', are close-knit communities. A lot of people who worked on the campaign probably know him. Wherever he is, he may be as unhappy with Elizabeth's description of him as Rielle Hunter is.

DSCC lauches new Web ad against Burr

Now that 2008 is so last year, the 2010 campaign has begun.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee today put out a new Web ad blasting Republican Sen. Richard Burr for telling his wife to take money out of an ATM during the banking crisis.

"When the banking crisis hit, Sen. Burr reassured the public saying the systems and protections were working," a narrator grimly says. "In private, Burr panicked, and told his wife to go to the ATM and take out as much of their money as she could ... In times of crisis, we need steady and responsible leaders."

Liberal bloggers and Democrats jumped on Burr last month when his ATM comments were reported. Burr has downplayed the flap, saying he did what many people did.

"When you look at the financial industry that is not exchanging capital, it immediately says you better have a little bit of cash set aside," he told a reporter later.

Burr consultant Paul Shumaker says the new ad is typical of what voters should expect.

"No great surprise, considering (Democrats) are still struggling to find a candidate to run in North Carolina," he said.

"North Carolina is a competitive state, these races are national races. We are going to be on the national stage for the next year and a half. This is part of what one can expect from both sides."

Virginia Foxx sends apology to Matthew Shepard's mother

Last week U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx stood on the House floor and called the case behind Matthew Shepard's 1998 murder "a hoax." A short time later she wrote a letter apologizing for the comment to Shepard's mother.

Foxx's comments came during debate on a hate-crimes bill that bore the name of Shepard, who was brutally attacked in Wyoming and left hanging on a fence to die. Foxx said he was killed during a robbery, not because he was gay.

Judy Shepard was in the House gallery when Foxx made her comments.

In an interview with a Winston-Salem TV station, Foxx said she "simply chose a poor word."

According to today's Winston-Salem Journal, she said she sent a handwritten note to Shepard's mother. She told the station, "if I said anything that offended her, I certainly apologize for it and know that she's hurting, and I would never do anything to add to that."

The paper said the Matthew Shepard Foundation confirmed that Judy Shepard received Foxx's note, but declined to comment.

"We are not commenting any further on Rep. Foxx's remarks on the House floor, or anything that was contained in a letter," Logan Shepard, the foundation's communications associate, told the paper. "Everything that has been said already, is enough. We are trying to focus on the positive, which is, that the (hate-crimes bill) has been passed onto the Senate."

Judge Bill Belk: 'I'm in it for the ride'

In his first interview about his unfolding case before the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission, Judge Bill Belk says the ordeal has been "painful."

Belk made his comments in a story published online today by The Charlotte Post. Defending his own actions, he criticized the commission for what he called leaks to the media and implied it had denied him due process. The commission charged him with violating a canon of the judicial code by continuing to sit on the board of Sonic Automotive.

“I went back, studied the canon, got legal advice and then I wrote a letter and asked what was the due process," he told the Post. "Really, this is all about due process because I didn't want to do anything behind closed doors. “I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing."

Belk has consistently refused to talk to the Observer about the case.

"The system has to be addressed," he told the Post. "We have a lot of good judges and attorneys and they don't like this either. I'm in it for the ride. If I have to go to every paper that'll listen, if I have to go to every church... The reason why we're here is we want balanced judiciary. It's been very painful to go through what I've gone through."

Dear Erskine: Evesdropping on the Dirty Book Guy and the UNC president

If I ever got bored, all I'd have to do is check my inbox.

There, through the magic of a blind copy, I find things like this dialogue between Charlotte mayoral candidate Martin Davis (aka the Dirty Book Guy) and Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system. Davis was complaining about UNCC Chancellor Phil DuBois. Here's an edited version.

Dear President Bowles: Chancellor Dubois is up to his old
tricks yet again. In an effort to assist pro-mass transit local government, last night he appeared before Charlotte City Council to indicate his public support for spending even more taxpayer money on yet another wasteful, unnecessary, public capital project which will benefit primarily the government institution he is being paid by the taxpayers to operate. This is just another example of blatant conflict of interest on
his part. You let him get away with exactly the same behavior several years ago during the campaign to repeal the half cent sales tax for transit, so I have no real hope you will take disciplinary action. An ethical, proper, just response would be to remove him. I won't hold my breath. Most Sincerely, Martin Davis 79' UNC-Chape Hill

Martin-- Thank you for writing me . I appreciate your taking
the time to express your point of view. I , however , don't see anything
"partisan " about Phil speaking out in favor of mass transit . In fact the
last time I was lucky enough to be home , our Mayor , a republican, and our County Commission Chair , a democrat , both spoke in favor of mass transit. I hope you will continue to let me hear your point of view. Erskine

Erskine: Not surprised you see nothing wrong with a public servant
using office to grow government at the expense of the taxpayers. At
the 4-27-2009 Charlotte City Council meeting, Dubois stated that one
the reason's to extend the light rail line to UNCC was to enable fans
to be able to ride to UNCC home football games. Our entire economic
system is collapsing because doctrinaire liberals like you, Dubois, the
Clinton's, the Bush family etc., have seized the reins of government
and spent us into oblivion. As the economy continues to deteriorate I
hope you and your friends take pleasure in what you have done to
us.

Martin -- Thank you for writing . You may remember that when I was (White
House Chief of Staff), I negotiated with Speaker Gingrich and Senator Lott ,
the first balanced budget in a generation . In fact Speaker Gingrich has
often referred to me as a true fiscal conservative . Just thought you might
find that of interest. Erskine

Erskine: Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I am happy you can recall
your extremely repressed, rational tendencies. I hope you will give
them free rein, remove Dubois from his sinecure, flee the Socialists
(Democrats), and join our band of true liberals here in Charlotte as we attempt
to bring sanity back to the political process. Sincerely, Martin

Virginia Foxx calls Shepard case a "hoax'

As the U.S. House debated a hate crimes bill today, Rep. Virginia Foxx today called the case for which it's named "a hoax."

The House was poised to vote on the so-called Matthew Shepard bill, named for a 21-year-old gay man murdered in Wyoming in 1998. Supporters say he was the victim of a hate crime perpetrated because he was gay.

"The hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed," Foxx, a Banner Elk Republican, said on the House floor. "But we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills."

Foxx's comments -- and reaction to them --- spread across the Internet.

"She should be ashamed," Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia told a reporter. "That is unreal, unbelievable. The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay."

A spokesman later said Foxx used "a poor choice of words."

Shepard was killed after meeting two men in a Laramie, Wyoming bar. The two were later convicted. Some witnesses testified that Shepard was targeted because he was gay.

"The facts over the last decade ... more than speak for themselves," said Matt Comer, an organizer with Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality. "Now she is trying to go back rewrite history, dishonor the life of Matthew Shepard. We cannot forget about the hate that is involved in crimes like this."

Perdue building bridges in Charlotte

A few months ago, you wouldn't exactly call it Democrat Bev Perdue's crowd: Charlotte's business leaders all gathered this afternoon at the Charlotte Chamber.

Among them was Perdue's erstwhile opponent, Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, who surely got the majority of votes from this hometown crowd.

But Perdue, who announced a handful of job training and economic development initiatives, appears to be building bridges in the city. She narrowly carried Mecklenburg County, but largely on the strength of the Barack Obama vote.

Her remarks today capped visits earlier in the day to the big banks and an unemployment office. Last month she was here to announce the move of GMAC's headquarters to Charlotte and open a regional governor's office -- the city's first.

"We've seen a lot of her in the first three months," said Chamber President Bob Morgan. "It's very reminiscent of Gov. (Jim) Hunt, who was very present here. She obviously has even taken it another level with the physical presence of her office, with the regular outreach she and her staff are making to Charlotte."

Even McCrory, who shared what appeared to be a warm greeting with the governor, offered a kind of compliment.

"In comparison with the last administration," he said, "the experience has been a very positive sign."

Perdue's predecessor, Democrat Mike Easley, was rarely seen in the Queen City.

Before Obama, Hugo Chavez was shaking hands in Hickory

President Obama's handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a summit of Western Hemisphere leaders left many Republicans steaming.

Republican senator John Ensign of Nevada called it "irresponsible for the President to be seen kind of laughing and joking with Hugo Chavez." Even the former vice president weighed in.

But eight years ago this week, it was a Republican laughing and joking with Chavez -- in of all places, Hickory.

It was the only U.S. stop Chavez made on his way back from a Summit of the Americas in Quebec. He spent two days with then-GOP Rep. Cass Ballenger, who hosted a barbecue dinner for the leftist leader at his home. The two also toured several businesses, including Ballanger's, and visited a day care center.

Ballenger, chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of International Relations, had met Chavez on a trip to Venezuela and said the two "hit it off."

Chavez took home a pair of baseball socks made for him at Catawba County Community College and a favorable impression of at least one corner of America.

"We've seen Cass' business, we spoke with his workers," Chavez said at the time. "This should be the idea of capitalism."

Stagecraft and Charlotte's mayoral race

Democrat Anthony Foxx hopes to win Charlotte's mayor's race by building on the energy from Barack Obama's local campaign. When he formally announced today, he showed he's at least got the stagecraft down.

TV risers faced a podium at West Charlotte high school. Directly behind the podium was a small bleacher with an appropriately diverse collection of supporters.

A disembodied voice introduced speakers, who entered from behind the kind of blue curtain common in Obama's and other presidential campaigns. One speaker, Joan Martin -- sister-in-law of former GOP Gov. Jim Martin -- introduced a biographical video. Then former Mayor Harvey Gantt introduced Foxx.

After the candidate himself spoke, the sound system blared Curtis Mayfield's "Move on up."

All this was different from earlier city campaigns, where candidates usually say their piece with little fanfare. "Who would have thought 10 years ago we'd have had a video for a city race," said Foxx supporter and longtime Democrat Steven Porter.

Davidson prof joins Obama administration

Russell Crandall, a Davidson College political scientist, is returning to Washington next week for a job in the Defense department.

On April 20, Crandall will the department's Principal Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Among other things, he'll serve as liasion to the State Department and other agencies.

During his eight years at Davidson, Crandall has written five books about U.S. foreign policy in the hemisphere. In 2004 and 2005, he served as the Director for the Western Hemisphere at George W. Bush's National Security Council. Prior to that he was a counter-terrorism advisor at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Along with his foreign policy credentials, Crandall is also the Traffic/Block Captain in Charlotte's Elizabeth Community Association.

Selling conservatism with bumper stickers

Loren Spivack is trying to resurrect the conservative movement. One bumper sticker at a time.

Spivack, 42, just opened “Free Market Warrior” kiosks at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville and at a mall in Hickory.

Among the merchandise are conservative-themed bumper stickers (“I’ll be as gracious to your president as you were to mine”), T-shirts and bobble-heads.

A Massachusetts native, he launched his business on the Web. He just moved to Charlotte to set up shop after studying the region’s demographics and voting patterns.

He votes Republican but says his main loyalty is to free market principles he sees being eroded. He doesn’t have much patience for Washington politicians of either party.

Spivack says the “next step of revolution” is for Republicans to regain control of Congress, then go after that party which he says “lost its way.”

“I’m doing my part to help out,” he says. “It has to start from the grassroots.”

Scofflaw councilman no stranger to controversy

This week I wrote about an Alamance County man named William "Bob" Hupman, who owes the state of North Carolina $2.2 million in back taxes. The Mebane city councilman tops the state revenue department's list of people and companies that owe more than $500 million in delinquent taxes.

The article brought Hupman some unwelcome attention.

One Triad TV station found that he also owes the IRS $4 million. It found a federal lien filed in 2004.

Another station interviewed people around Mebane. Councilman Ed Hooks told WFMY the city is powerless to kick Hupman off the council. "I can't explain it, I think it's a phenomenon that is... strange," he said. "In other cities he would have been voted off immediately."

Hupman, who faces re-election this year, has had more than tax problems.

Last month, the N.C. Attorney General's office decided not to pursue charges against him after reviewing findings from an SBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. A woman reported the allegations to the Mebane Police Department last May.

In 2007, a Mebane man pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of trying to run over Hupman in his car. The driver was originally charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

"I'm a thick-skinned son-of-a-gun," Hupman told a reporter recently.

Jeff Katz's new gig won't be Mecklenburg GOP chairman

Mecklenburg County Republicans will elect a new chairman Saturday. But the best-known candidate has dropped out.

Jeff Katz, the conservative talk show host fired in December by WBT radio, had expressed interest in the job but has pulled out, according to current chairman Lee Teague.

His departure leaves Chris Emmanuel and Rob Bryan vying for the party's top spot.

Nearly 400 people have registered for the convention, which will be held Saturday morning at Butler High School.

Dole manager: Godless ad was 'Hail Mary'

Marty Ryall, who ran Republican Elizabeth Dole’s Senate campaign last year, confirms what many people suspected about the so-called Godless ad – that it was a desperation move by a campaign that knew it was losing.

Ryall writes about the ad in a cover story for Politics magazine. The headline: “Our Hail Mary Pass, Why we ran the Godless ad and what I’d do differently.”

The ad that ran in the final days was the most controversial of the campaign. It sought to tie Democrat Kay Hagan to a group of atheists who want to remove references to God from the public arena. It showed Hagan’s photo while a woman’s voice said “There is no God.”

“Many in the media, especially on the liberal side, were
quick to point to the ad and claim it backfired, costing
Dole the election,” Ryall writes. “Nothing could be further from the
truth. When a football team is trailing by 7 points and
throws a “Hail Mary” on the last play of the game, they
don’t lose because they failed to complete the play, they
lose because they were down 7 points and time was running
out.”

Ryall recites the campaign’s problems. It burned through too much money early and then faced an onslaught from outside groups. In addition, there were Dole’s weaknesses, including her effectiveness rating, the time she spent outside North Carolina and, of course, the Obama turnout effort.

In the final week, he says, Dole was on “a losing trajectory” and had to do something with “shock value.” The only thing he would have done differently about the Godless ad was to cut the “There is no God” quote at the end since it gave Hagan a ready line of attack.

“So, in the end, the “Godless” ad had little impact on the
election. The Obama campaign’s decision to target North
Carolina and turn out the Democrat vote was far more
damaging. …. I would argue that had we run the ad
sooner, and without the voice at the end, it would have been closer.
However, that is all hindsight. The risk was huge and not worth
taking until it was evident we could not win without it, and
that was not clear until about 10 days out. Had the ad run
about 20 days out, it may have made it closer, but the data
we had at that time did not warrant taking such a large
gamble.”

Lynn Wheeler: Unlikely Civil Rights pilgrim?

You might not expect Lynn Wheeler to be making a Civil Rights pilgrimage through the South. But that's exactly what she's doing.

Wheeler, the former Republican member of the Charlotte city council, is accompanying former NAACP chairman Julian Bond on a seven-day tour called “In the Footsteps of the Movement.” She's even blogging about the trip for Qcitymetro, a new Web site that caters to African Americans in the Charlotte area.

Even Wheeler says she's an unlikely candidate for the trip.

"I grew up in the ‘60s on a plantation outside of Richmond, Va." she wrote. "I
attended an all-white, all-girls high school and college. To top that off, I
was a Richmond debutante and spent my summers at the all-white Country Club
of Virginia, where my parents were members."

Today the group on Tuskeegee, Al., where they heard from Fred Gray, the lawyer who worked with Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King during the Montgomery Bus Boycott days. Travelers, who each paid $3,200 for the tour, also have heard from the likes of movement veterans such as Rep. John Lewis.

"It's compelling, it's riveting, it's emotional," Wheeler said today by phone. "I just wanted to go. I've been obsessed with the Civil Rights movement for some time. And what a better way to learn about it than to have Julian Bond lead the way."

Lindsey Graham's unlikely ally

When Sen. Lindsey Graham announced on national TV that the U.S. should at least consider nationalizing banks, he drew scorn from a lot of fellow Republicans.

But today Graham picked up an ally who's held in esteem by Republicans as well as Democrats.

”It may be necessary to temporarily nationalise some banks in order to facilitate a swift and orderly restructuring,” former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has told the Financial Times. “I understand that once in a hundred years this is what you do.”

Greenspan, a free-market capitalist, told the paper that temporary government ownership would "allow the government to transfer toxic assets to a bad bank without the problem of how to price them."

Graham amplified his comments this week in an interview with the Observer. He said after federal investments such as the $45 billion the government poured into the Bank of America, nationalization should at least be on the table.

"The truth is we've put more money into the Bank of America than it's worth," Graham said. "That's not nationalization. That's just stupid."

Some online readers applauded Graham's idea to debate the issue. Others didn't.

"He just admitted Congress is stupid - not that this was unknown to the public," akhimark wrote. "Now he thinks Congress should take over banks. That's just stupid. I guess stupid is as stupid does.

(Graham's comments apparently didn't take into account that the $45 billion government investment is preferred stock, over and above the $27 billion in market capitalization.)

No stimulus for 2010 Senate race?

Democratic U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler of Asheville may have followed his conscience when he voted against the Congressional stimulus bill last week, but he may not have helped his prospects for a statewide race in 2010.

Shuler has been touted as a prospective challenger to Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina next year. A former pro-football player, he's got the name recognition and apparently the money. He had $940,000 in his campaign account at the end of the year, not much less than Burr.

But Shuler might have trouble in a primary.

He was one of only 11 Democrats to vote against the Obama-backed stimulus bill in the House, one of only seven to vote against the conference version the president is signing into law today.

Shuler is also an anti-abortion member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate-conservative Democrats. That plays well in his mountain district but could present problems in a primary, where most voters are more liberal. Attorney General Roy Cooper is also considering the race.

An aide says the Senate race wasn't on Shuler's mind when he cast his stimulus vote.

"It was made because he really felt the stimulus package put before the House was not the way to go," says spokesman Andrew Whalen.

Mistress scandal photo!!! (Bids start at $200.)

Want to own a piece of "The photo that Exposed the Truth about Edwards Mistress?" Better hurry.

There's only a week left on the ebay auction for .... a check paid for the photo of a plane.

The unidentified seller says his nephew took the photo of the private jet at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. After the nephew posted it online, he got an email from a man he identifies as an editor of "Inside Edition."

The seller says his nephew, 18-year-old Tomas Cubero, was told he'd photographed the Learjet carrying John Edwards and his mistress, Rielle Hunter, to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. (It's unclear whether either one was actually aboard.)

"Inside Edition's" parent, King World, bought the photo for $200. They paid Cubero with a check, in the stub of which is written "Edwards Mistress.”

For a bid of $200, you get the uncashed check (endorsed by Cubero) and the stub.

"Tomas is currently saving his money to be able to come to the USA to obtain his flying license," the seller says. "He requested that I sell this historical document, in the hope that it will help him to pursue his dream."

Aides rise after Edwards falls

You've heard of David Axelrod, President Obama's political advisor who now has prime real estate in the White House. You probably haven't heard of Tommy Vietor.

Both men worked for John Edwards' presidential campaign back in 2004 and subsequently signed on with Obama. They're among dozens of former Edwards' advisers and staffers who've gone on to prosper even after their erstwhile candidate fell in scandal.

Here's a look at where some of them ended up:

-- Mark Kornblau, Edwards’ traveling press secretary in 2008, is reportedly headed to the American delegation at the U.N.

-- Miles Lackey, Shelby native and Edwards’ policy adviser is now chief of staff to Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.

-- Jennifer O'Malley-Dillon, who ran Edwards' Iowa campaigns in 2004 and 2008, is the new executive director of the Democratic National Committee.

-- Jennifer Palmieri, Edwards' one-time press secretary, is the Senior Vice President for Communications at American Progress, a liberal Washington think tank.

-- Jonathan Prince, a top Edwards’ aide, returned to the State Department and travels with Special Envoy George Mitchell. During the Clinton administration, he was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and oversaw communications strategy for NATO during the war in Kosovo.

-- Eric Schultz, national spokesman for Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign, went on to work for Democrat Al Franken’s Minnesota Senate campaign. Now he’s spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

-- Joe Trippi, who ran Edwards’ 2008 campaign and Howard Dean’s 2004 bid, heads his own media firm and is a frequent guest on cable news shows.

-- Tommy Vietor. The former aide who worked for Edwards in Iowa went to work for Obama in 2004. Now he's an assistant ' press secretary in the White House.

One ex-aide who won’t be getting any White House invitations is Wendy Button.

Over the years she wrote speeches for Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Obama. Edwards even contacted her about helping draft a speech for the 2008 convention, before he became persona non grata. Button grew disaffected with her party and the treatment of Sarah Palin and publicly announced her support for John McCain.

Burr's old 'Thing' gets new exposure

It's not exactly a limo, but it gets U.S. Sen. Richard Burr to work and back. And yesterday it got him some national exposure.

A camera crew filmed Burr getting into his 1974 Volkswagen 'Thing' -- with the top down during a snowstorm. The footage made its way onto the celebrity Web site, TMZ.com.

The notoriety brought comments from around the country.

"Neither snow nor sleet nor rain keeps him from diving the 'Thing'," says Burr spokesman Chris Walker.

Steele a hit with Meck GOP chairman

A lot of Carolinas' Republicans were pulling for Columbia's Katon Dawson to win last week's race for GOP national chairman. Not Lee Teague.

Teague, Mecklenburg County Republican chairman, was pulling for Michael Steele, the former Maryland lieutenant governor who edged Dawson for the chairmanship.

Teague invited Steele to speak at last year's Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner in Charlotte. He also found himself on the same page. Both criticized a Republican congressman who dismissed his GOP primary opponent as a liberal.

"This shouting Liberal! Liberal! Liberal! stuff is not going to work this year," Teague said the time, adding that the congressman "and a lot of other Republicans in Washington need to get a clue."

Asked about Teague's comments at the time, Steele said, "We don't have the brand power to do that right now, so we need to come to the table with a better game. We need some common-sense solutions that speak to where people are in their everyday lives. So running around screaming 'this guy's a liberal' won't get you re-elected."

"He understands that we’re going to have to fight very hard to get the attention of the average voter," Teague said today, "and get them to understand that our solutions will make their lives better.”

McCrory gets new job -- close to home

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory has a pair of new business gigs -- including one with his brother.

McCrory, who lost the N.C. gubernatorial race in November, said this morning he's become a partner in McCrory & Company. Started by his brother Phil 19 years ago, the company is a consulting firm that works with business clients to increase sales.

"My main focus will be to help clients expand their customer base," the mayor says. He'll also use his network of contacts to bring the firm new clients.

Clients include IBM, Microsoft and Dell, according to Phil McCrory.

It's McCrory's second employer since college. He worked for years in a number of different jobs for Duke.

McCrory this week also joined the board of directors for Tree.com. The company is the parent of LendingTree and other groups such as RealEstate.com and HomeLoanCenter.com.

McCrory declined to say how much he'll earn from either position. However filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that Tree.com annually pays directors a retainer of $40,000 and a restricted stock award of $50,000.

At McCrory & Company, he'll make a salary and commission.

Phil McCrory says the company is looking for new office space in the SouthPark area. The company web site currently lists its headquarter address as 4360 Arbor Way, Suite 300. That's the address of Phil McCrory's south Charlotte home.

A lobbyist who'll be missed

The word lobbyist has a lot of negative connotations these days. They're agents for special interests, conduits of campaign cash and all-around bogeymen for government reformers.

Roger Bone represented groups such as tobacco, car dealers and pharmaceuticals. But for a quarter-century, his main special interest was the legislature itself and the people who worked there, be they legislators, reporters or staffers.

Roger died Sunday of cancer at 69.

I met Roger in 1985 when I started covering the legislature. A former lawmaker himself, he was working for then Speaker Liston Ramsey. He opened his own lobbying business a couple years later. He was rated the state's top lobbyist in the most recent rankings by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.

But Roger never had an inflated sense of self-importance. A beefy guy, he always had a smile and stories that made other people smile. He got to the top by being a straight-shooter.

The last time I talked to him was a year or so ago, after his diagnosis and after a chemo treatment. There was no self-pity, just the old Roger. The legislature won't be the same without him.

Clinton -- the other one -- coming to N.C.

During last year's Democratic presidential primary, N.C. Sen. Julia Boseman traveled with Bill Clinton as he stumped for his wife, Hilary. Now the former president is repaying the favor.

Clinton is scheduled to headline a fundraiser this month for the Wilmington Democrat in Raleigh. The same day he'll headline another for U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler.

“Its not everyday the president comes down and throws a fundraiser for you," Boseman said today. "It gives me on start on fundraising for next year.”

She might need it.

Through October, she'd spent nearly three-quarters of a million dollars on race she would narrowly win. The Senate Democratic committee helped, giving her $438,000.

Shuler is rumored to be considering a 2010 challenge to Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Spokesman Andrew Whalen said Clinton will help raise money for another House campaign.

"Today," Whalen said, "we're running for re-election to the house."

Graham: Going 'where the big boats are'?

State Sen. Malcolm Graham will start his third term Sunday. And it may be his last.

The Charlotte Democrat plans to have a personal swearing-in at his alma mater, Johnson C. Smith University. According to a press release, he'll also "address his future plans and priorities."

There's been speculation that Graham would run for mayor, likely facing city council member Anthony Foxx is a primary. But Graham seems to be looking beyond the mayor's office.

"We're going to end speculation," he said today. "Watching what Sen. (Barack) Obama has done has inspired me... I want to take my ship out where the big boats are ... We're looking at 2010, and hopefully somethings will open up Congressionally or even a U.S. Senate race."

He said Sunday he'll outline his plans, at least in general.

"I’m not trying to be coy or anything, but certainly I will be thinking out loud," he said. "Some people said of mayor, 'Why are you thinking that way when you ought to be thinking bigger?'

"I can’t sit back and wait for Congressman (Mel) Watt to sit back and decide that he’s had enough. It may be time for me to create my own opportunity.”

Old stories, new charges haunt David Balmer

Remember David Balmer?

He's a one-time wunderkind of N.C. politics, elected to the state House in 1988 at age 26 and minority leader four years later. In 1994 the Charlotte Republican ran for Congress and forced a primary runoff with Sue Myrick.

But his resume -- playing varsity soccer in college, graduating in the top of his law school class and clerking on the state Supreme Court -- raised questions. Turned out, none of the claims was true. After first blaming the embellishments on a GOP rival and later an overzealous campaign worker, he admitted adding the lies himself. He apologized but was trounced in the runoff.

He kept a low profile for a year, until police found his bloodstained car in east Charlotte. Seventeen hours later, he turned up on a street far from home, battered, disheveled and soaking wet. Police never learned why. He moved to Colorado, remarried and in 2004 was elected to the state House out there.

Last month trouble found Balmer again.

He's running for the minority leader post in the Colorado House, the same job he had here. Last month the current Republican minority leader filed an ethics complaint against him. He alleges, according to the Rocky Mountain News, that Balmer "may have worked with a lobbyist to offer campaign donations and a future committee chairmanship to another legislator in exchange for supporting Balmer."

Balmer and the lobbyist both say they've done nothing wrong. Last week a legislative panel was appointed to look into the complaint.

When the complaint was filed, Colorado reporters got anonymous emails with news stories (including one from the Observer) about Balmer's earlier problems in North Carolina. The subject line read "The Sordid Tale of David Balmer."

The lobbyist in question, by the way, represents the Colorado Chiropractic Association. It was some N.C. chiropractors whom prosecutors said handed former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black wads of cash in restaurant bathrooms.

Big names at Foxx fundraiser

Charlotte Democrat Anthony Foxx isn't officially a candidate for Charlotte mayor. But that's not stopping him from holding a high-powered fundraiser next week.

Foxx will be the guest of honor at a Tuesday fundraiser at the southeast Charlotte home of Cameron and Dee Dee Harris. Among those in attendance will be his honorary campaign chairman, former Bank of America chairman Hugh McColl.

Democrats haven't won the mayor's job since 1987. But Foxx and others are optimistic about the chances after this month's election, when Charlotte and Mecklenburg County voters rejected seven-term Mayor Pat McCrory in favor of Bev Perdue for governor.

"I’m obviously very bullish on Charlotte and bullish about my prospects for success," Foxx says. "I'm delighted that so much early support has come to me and I hope to grow it over the next year.”

McCrory hasn't announced his plans. Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Graham has hinted that he's keeping his options open.

Foxx said he expects "a strong crowd," with guests contributing up to $4,000.

"We hope to fill the house up,” he said.

That would be a windfall. The Harris's live in a 23,466-square-foot house.

******
A postscript:

Yesterday I blogged about Charlotte's Anne Udall, whose brother and cousin were both elected to the U.S. Senate this month from Colorado and New Mexico respectively. She came close to having a third relative in the Senate.

Republican Gordon Smith of Oregon, who narrowly lost his re-election bid, is Udall's second cousin.

For Anne Udall, politics is all in the family

Charlotte's Anne Udall had a lot to celebrate on Nov. 4.

She was with her brother Mark when he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Colorado. The same night, her cousin Tom won a Senate election in his home of New Mexico. Both are Democrats.

Anne Udall (left), executive director of the Lee Institute, had spent the week before the election bouncing around Colorado on her brother's campaign bus with him and some of their other siblings. The night he won was emotional for them all.

"It was very humbling and exciting on a lot of different levels," says Anne, 54.

Mark Udall's campaign carried echoes of their father's races. The late Mo Udall was a liberal Arizona congressman who ran for president in 1976, losing the primary to Jimmy Carter.

"It reminded me of dad on a couple levels," says Anne. "One, I think Mark is really committed to this work and it really matters to him.

"The second thing that was really very moving to me was see this whole generation of 20-year-olds really committed to Mark's candidacy. And that’s what Dad did. ... These kids they don’t know Dad. He's a name in a book. But they know Mark and they have the same connection with Mark that I think our generation had with Dad. So that was really neat.”

The day after the election, Anne and her brother went for a hike in the Colorado mountains. "That's what Udalls do when they win," she told a reporter at the time. "We go outdoors. We hike."

Her cousin Tom is the son of Stewart Udall, a former Arizona congressman who served as Secretary of the Interior under presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Anne plans to go to Washington in January for the swearing-in. She expects a family reunion -- with one-fiftieth of the Senate in the family.

Ray Warren's odyssey: From Jesse Helms to Barack Obama

When I started covering the General Assembly 23 years ago, Ray Warren had just been elected to his first term in the House. He was a young Republican lawyer from Matthews swept in with the Reagan landslide of 1984.

He eventually became minority leader and in 1996, outpolled all N.C. Republicans in his losing bid for the state Supreme Court. He came out of the closet in 1998 and left his party a year later. Now, in the latest chapter of a long odyssey, he's a tax assessor's attorney in suburban Washington. Here are his observations about the election:

"Election night in Washington was surreal. My partner and I watched the returns at Nellie's, a nominally gay sports bar packed with a racially diverse gay and straight crowd. Each time a state fell into the blue column the bar - and bars up and down the U Street corridor - erupted in cheers.

"There were hundreds in the bar -- men and women of all races. When CNN announced that Obama was elected at 11:00 pandemonium broke out. We jumped shouted and hugged perfect strangers. It was like the end of World War II or some other great unifying event.

"A bit later, when Obama gave his speech in Chicago I, like many others, was in tears. All the years of Jesse Helms, hate and division had been defeated. Not only the nation, but my home state and native state (Virginia and North Carolina) had been part of the redemption.

"It was an unexpected and powerful emotional moment that overwhelmed me. Seeing my tears, a young black woman silently reached over and took my arm as if to say "it will be OK". I was struck by the immense irony of that act of simple kindness. On the most important night of the nation's history to African Americans, a young black woman was comforting me, an old white southern man, overcome with the emotion of the moment.

"As we left to catch a cab back to Virginia, the street was alive with impromptu celebrations. Horns honked, people danced in the street and there were shouts of joy. A friend texted me to say that he and hundreds were gathered in front of the White House shouting 'yes we can'. And for once, it was true. We can.

"And we did."

Brother, can you spare $3 million?

Six years ago, Republican Elizabeth Dole reacted with alarm when Democratic Senate opponent Erskine Bowles, a wealthy former investment banker, dug deep into his own pocket.

"TAKE A LOOK AT THIS," she wrote in an e-mail to thousands of supporters in October 2002. "My opponent loaned nearly $3 million of his personal wealth to his own campaign We expect him to use even more of his personal wealth to finance his negative television and radio ads."

"I do not have that kind of personal wealth," Dole wrote. "So, to continue setting the record straight I must be able to count on the generous support of friends like you."

Dole's electronic plea raised thousands of dollars for her campaign.

Now Dole, running for a second term against Democrat Kay Hagan, has loaned her own campaign $3 million.

According to an analysis of disclosure forms by the Center for Responsive Politics, only six senators are wealthier than Dole. She had holdings valued at between $18.5 million and $69.2 million.

In 2002, she reported family assets of up to $23 million.

Gas wars in the 8th District

One brochure shows gas pumps covered with red bags that say "Sorry, Out of Service." Another shows long lines at a station where regular sells for $4.59 and high-test has run out.

One message. Two candidates.

The first is a mailer from 8th District Democrat Larry Kissell attacking Republican Rep. Robin Hayes. It accuses him of voting for tax breaks for oil companies and owning millions of dollars in oil company stocks.

The second mailer is from Hayes. Over the photo of gas lines, it says, "Larry Kissell's extreme liberal energy policies get us nowhere."

Kissell, it says, opposes expanded off-shore oil drilling. But Kissell's brochure says he believes in drilling too, though not necessarily off the N.C. coast.

"Drill on American soil and in the Gulf first," it says, "selling American oil to American consumers."

As my colleague Lisa Zagaroli reported last month, Kissell's position is "drill here, drill now." But by "here" he means the U.S., not North Carolina. And he wants oil companies to use leases they already have in the Gulf.

Outside groups pour more money into N.C. Senate race

Two groups are pouring big money into North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race with new ads attacking Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The Employee Freedom Action Committee, an anti-union group, is spending $1 million on online ads and mailings that criticize Hagan, according to spokesman Tim Miller.

The group is attacking her support for legislation that would make it easier for unions to organize. It’s also spending $2 million for a TV ad featuring former
Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern criticizing the legislation. The ad is running in North Carolina and a half-dozen other states.


The committee is affiliated with The Center for Union Facts. It opposes the legislation, which would allow workers to unionize by signing cards instead of through a secret-ballot election.

“Kay supports it as a way to level the playing field for working families,” said Hagan spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan. “This bill simply allows the workers, not the employers, to decide which method to use, and stiffens penalties for intimidation.”


Meanwhile, a veterans’ group is spending $200,000 on TV ads saying Dole voted against body armor for troops.

The ad by VoteVets.org features a man identified as an Iraq war veteran firing shots from an AK-47 through a flak jacket given out early in the war. He also fires into more modern body armor, which stops the shots. It claims Dole twice voted against the more modern armor.

The ad appears to be the same one used in 2006 in a Virginia Senate race.

According to the watchdog site FactCheck.org, the votes came on a 2003 amendment that would have appropriated just over $1 billion for unspecified “National Guard and Reserve Equipment” but made no mention of body armor. The amendment lost on a generally party-line vote.

The group called the ad false.

“America’s active duty personnel and veterans have no greater friend than Elizabeth Dole,” said campaign spokesman Dan McLagan. “To accuse her of causing them harm is the lowest form of sleazeball politics.”

Rock Hill author watches Ayers' interview go viral

Much of the recent commentary on 1960s radical William Ayers has included a quote from a 1994 book.

"I'm a radical, Leftist, small 'c' communist," Ayers said at the time.

It was quoted in a Wall Street Journal piece last month by Stanley Kurtz of the National Review and picked up by conservative bloggers as Republicans try to tie Ayers with Democrat Barack Obama. Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists."

The quote about Ayers came from the book "Sixties Radicals" by Rock Hill writer Ron Chepesiuk, a former Fulbright Fellow and Winthrop University faculty member.

Chepesiuk devoted a chapter to the one-time member of the Weather Underground. Its title was "Radical Educator." It talked about how Ayers had gone on to be a prominent educational adviser. He's taken part in programs at the University of South Carolina College of Education.

Chepesiuk, who interviewed Ayers at his home near the University of Chicago, doesn't defend Ayers' violent past, but believes the comments in his book have been taken out of context.

“It sounds like he’s an unrepentant domestic terrorist, that he’s still living the philosophy and mode of action of the '60s," he told me. "He’s left that all behind. He’s still a social radical. But it’s not a question of trying to violently overthrow the system. He’s trying to change the system from within."

Obama and Ayers were both involved in a 1990s education project called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Obama has denied any close association. Critics say he should not have associated at all with the former radical whose group took credit for several bombings.

"We're not talking about him running around with a domestic terrorist," Chepesiuk says. "We're talking about a respectable educator.”

Mike Easley as Jerry Seinfeld

It was admittedly a tough act to follow.

Barack Obama had brought the wildly partisan crowd of Democrats to their feet Saturday night with a surprise appearance at their annual dinner at the Grove Park Inn. But when his turn came, N.C. Gov. Mike Easley was in rare form.

-- He said Obama, who was raised in Hawaii and went to Harvard Law, is a good fit for Southern Democrats.

"Barack," he said, "is Hawaiian for Bubba."

-- Riffing off Sarah Palin's line at the GOP convention, he described Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan.

"You know the difference between Kay Hagan and a pit bull?" he asked. "Nothin'."

-- Looking down the dais at Rep. Heath Shuler from nearby Waynesville, he took note of the congressman's Republican opponent, Asheville psychologist Carl Mumpower.

"I'm asking you," Easley said, "who needs the therapy?"

Black caucus endorsement a 'coup' for Roberts?

A few months ago, in the heat of the Nick Mackey controversy, some black Democrats vowed to punish Mecklenburg commissioners chairman Jennifer Roberts at the polls.

Roberts, after party activists chose Mackey as sheriff in a disputed -- and later overturned -- party election, was among those who voted to make his erstwhile rival Chipp Bailey sheriff. "There will be some awfully angry African Americans in this community," predicted one black Democrat.

But at Sunday night's closed Black Political Caucus meeting, Roberts ended up with one of the group's three endorsements for at-large seats. Democratic Party chair Joel Ford said this morning that there was spirited debate. One of the people pushing the endorsement of Roberts and Dan Murrey, both white Democrats, was Harold Cogdell, the only black at-large Democrat.

"By joining with all three and by unifying the ticket .... it's a no-brainer, it's a slam dunk," said Ford. "It's the dream team."

Without strong African American support for Roberts, or for that matter Murrey, both could lose. It also would threaten continued Democratic control of the county board.

Republican commissioner Dan Ramirez wasn't impressed by the caucus vote. Virtually every candidate endorsed is a Democrat.

"They lost all credibility as a caucus," he said. They should call themselves the black Democratic caucus."

Kissell -- Hunt-ing for votes in Charlotte

They both wore white shirts and ties, with rolled up sleeves and earnest looks. It was hard to tell who the candidate was this afternoon as Democrats Jim Hunt and Larry Kissell walked door to door in Charlotte's Cherry community.

Hunt was helping Kissell in his 8th District race against Republican Rep. Robin Hayes. Before an evening fundraiser, they campaigned in the mostly African American neighborhood near uptown.

"Folks, I'm down here because we need to make some changes in Washington," Hunt told two men pulling out of a driveway on Cherry Street. "Haven't they messed it up up there? We need a change."

Hunt went on to tell people that Kissell, a former textile worker, "knows about the working people." Hayes, he reminded them, is the fifth richest person in Congress.

A few people greeted Hunt as a celebrity. Some appeared to barely know him.

Bounding up Mike Pugh's front porch, Hunt extended his hand.

"I'm former Gov. Jim Hunt," he said. "I bet you voted for me a few times, didn't you?"

"No," replied Pugh, 55. This is the first time I've ever voted."

North Carolina the new Ohio?

Could North Carolina in 2008 play the role of Ohio in 2004?

That's what NBC political analyst Chuck Todd says he's hearing from folks in Barack Obama's campaign.

“(They) tell me they think in four weeks we will be talking about North Carolina more than we will be Ohio,” Todd told Dave Wagner of Flashpoint, a public affairs show on NewsChannel 36.

“They do believe the voter registration advantage that they have had in this state which started with the very competitive primary during the spring is allowed them to change the face of the electorate.”

You can catch Flashpoint Sunday at 10:30 a.m. In addition to Todd, the show features Davidson political scientist Susan Roberts, and me.

In his segment, Todd also talks about North Carolina's U.S. Senate campaign. Political analyst Charlie Cook also weighs in on the race in a column today.

Republican Senate hopes are looking more dismal around the county, he says, adding that GOP prospects "in Minnesota, Oregon, and North Carolina have dimmed a bit in the past month or two." To read the entire column, click here.

Two new polls show tight race in N.C.

Two new polls show a tight presidential race in North Carolina.

A CNN/Time poll released this afternoon shows Republican John McCain leading Democrat Barack Obama 48 percent to 47 percent among registered N.C. voters. That's well with within the 3.5-point margin of error.

A survey of registered voters by the Raleigh-based Civitas Institute found McCain ahead 43 percent to 42 percent. Libertarian Bob Barr got 2 percent. When poll-takers asked undecided voters who they're leaning to, McCain's lead moved to 47 percent to 44 percent, with 8 percent undecided.

The margin of error in the Civitas poll is 4.2 percentage points.

Joe Biden: Lots of walking

When Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden was in Charlotte Sunday, he ridiculed Republican John McCain's statement that the economy had made progress under President Bush.

"I could walk from here to Greensboro,” he told a crowd at a Phillip O. Berry Academy. “I wouldn't run into one person who thought we'd made economic progress unless I ran into John McCain.”

A few days earlier, he was in New Hampshire.

"I can walk from here to Manchester, and I doubt I'll find anyone who said the fundamentals are strong and the economy's roaring, unless I run into John McCain."

This week he was in Michigan.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I could walk from here to Lansing, and I wouldn't run into a single person who thought our economy was doing well, unless I ran into John McCain,” he said.

If he ever DID run into McCain, they wouldn't necessarily talk about their political differences. Biden always prefaces his criticisms with testimony about their long personal friendship. In Charlotte, he talked about a call he made eight years ago after McCain was roughed up in the S.C. GOP primary.

"Where do you want me John?" he recalled asking. "I'll show up where ever you want to testify for your integrity and character."

Charlie Cook: Headed to a 'photo finish'

ELON -- By any objective measure, Democrats should be running away with this presidential election, political analyst Charlie Cook said this noon.

The economy is down. The party of an unpopular president is trying to stay in power. The Democratic candidate has a wide edge in money and field organization.

"Pratically every factor you point to suggests (Barack) Obama ought to win this relatively easily," said Cook, publisher of the Washington-based Cook Political Report. "But he hasn't been able to put it away."

Cook, at Elon University for a speech tonight, spoke to around two dozen reporters and editors this noon in a political science lab. In addition to the presidential race, he also talked about North Carolina's U.S. Senate race, and why incumbent Elizabeth Dole faces a tougher than expected race.

Cook said while Obama will do well with black, Hispanic and young voters, he hasn't been able to close the deal with white voters over 50. Because "They've never met anybody like Barack Obama .... We're headed toward I think a photo finish," Cook said.

He said the dynamics that are helping Obama help Democrat Kay Hagan in her race against Dole, who at one time looked almost invincible.

"A year ago, we never thought we'd be talking about it," he said. "It's not about (Hagan) It's a referendum up or down on Elizabeth Dole, and to some extent Republicans. And Kay Hagan is a vessel....

"In a normal year, Elizabeth Dole wouldn't have anything to worry about. This isn't a normal year."

Edwards canceling all appearances

Looks like we won't be hearing from former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards for a while.

Edwards has canceled a scheduled Oct. 14 speech at my alma mater, the University of Illinois. He's also canceled appearances at New York's Hofstra University and Salem State College in Massachusetts.

The Illini Union Board, which was going to pay Edwards $65,000 for the speech, posted this statement from Edwards on their Web site:

“I have decided to avoid any public engagements until after the election in November. Nothing is more important than electing Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I don’t want my appearance at these events to be a distraction from the important issues of the election, or from the important purpose of these meetings.”

Edwards' star has fallen since he admitted to an affair with a former campaign worker, an affair first reported by the National Enquirer.

This week Enquirer editor David Perel said the same reporters -- what he called "the Edwards team" -- was in Alaska looking into members of Gov. Sarah Palin's family.