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I was in Greensboro today to hear former U.S. Senator John Edwards pitch his new book and chat with some other folks for a story I’m working on for later this week. (My colleague Sonja Elmquist is writing a story about his stop in Greensboro for Sunday’s paper.)

Update: Click here for Sonja’s story.

As The Charlotte Observer’s Mark Johnson wrote in his story today, “A click of the television remote this week should have erased any doubt -- small as it would have to be -- that former U.S. Sen. John Edwards is running for president again.”

To be fair: Edwards hasn’t said he’s going to do it.

But he sure sounds like a guy who is running, even if he’s not willing to come right out and say it. He spent as much of his time in Greensboro Saturday hashing over policy as he did highlighting his book. As one gentleman who sidled up to me quipped, “It sure sounds like stump speech to me.”

The former Senator has been saying for a while now that “something interesting” will show up on his web page sometime in the next few weeks. It’s widely expected that will be the official kick-off to his campaign.

In an odd sort of way, he’ll now be something of a Washington outsider, two years removed from elective office. As he was leaving the building Saturday afternoon, I asked him whether he ever wished he had run again for Senate rather than give up the seat, which is now held by Richard Burr.

“No,” he said very firmly, needing prompting to deliver the rest of the answer. “With what I can do now I have the freedom to focus on the things I care most about,” Edwards said.

Basically, he said, not being a Senator means he’s not tied to the issue of the moment.

So, I asked, would you want to give up that freedom, say for another job in Washington?

“It depends on what for.”

Right. Check the web site.

More to come later this week.

From today’s paper, Bob Crumley wants to be AG.

The goofy state of modern political campaigns is such that people who are clearly going to run for president, like say maybe John Edwards, won’t say they're running even as they assemble an apparatus one would use for nothing else but running for president.

Edwards' latest step, via our friends at the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Rep. David Bonior, a one-time leader in Congress who has close ties to labor unions, has signed on to manage a future John Edwards presidential campaign.

So, State Treasurer Richard Moore headlined a shindig this morning where he backed a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit. From his news release:

“With the cost of health care, food and gas on the rise, too many families continue to struggle to make ends meet. Last year, we were successful in raising the state’s minimum wage by one dollar, and now we should build on that success by enacting a state version of the federal earned income tax credit. A state EITC rewards North Carolina values – hard work, family and playing by the rules. The EITC will work hand-in-hand with the increased minimum wage to help North Carolinians improve their situation and that of their families. Now that business has done its part with the minimum wage, enacting an EITC is the right thing to do to help 700,000 North Carolina families.”

The federal EITC was created in 1975 to offset the effects of federal payroll taxes on low-income families. It is administered through the personal income tax and is based on the individual’s income, filing status and number of dependents, encouraging work and responsibility. Research shows that the credit has contributed to a significant increase in labor force participation among single mothers and that many recipients use the refund to pay off debt, invest in education or pay for housing.

So close on the heels of that release, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue sends this one:

Lieutenant Governor Bev Perdue and a key group of lawmakers will once again push for working families’ tax relief during the upcoming legislative session that begins next month.

“The Rewarding Work Tax Credit will provide much need tax relief for working families,” said Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue. “They should have a seat at the legislative table every time tax relief is discussed,” added Perdue.

The Rewarding Work Tax Credit is a state earned income tax credit. It’s similar to the federal EITC. Last year, around 600,000 families were approved for the federal EITC. Under the proposal, a family would have to be approved at the federal level before becoming eligible for the state earned income tax credit.

“This is one of the pillars in a permanent working families agenda in North Carolina. A third of North Carolina’s families are still living paycheck to paycheck and are unable to meet basic living needs. This tax relief will put more money into the pocket of our working families,” said Perdue.

Can’t we get along and restructure the tax code the help less fortunate people together? Man, it’s like these two are running for something...oh, yeah, they are the frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008.

Perdue’s release, in a show of one-upmanship, includes quotes from notables such as Greensboro Rep. Alma Adams:

“I’m proud to be working with the Lt. Governor on a working families agenda. A state earned income tax credit is a big part of that. It will help hundreds of thousands of families in North Carolina.”

Click here for Moore’s release.

Click here for Perdue’s release.

Sen. Kay Hagan, Greensboro Democrat, says she’ll most likely be running for some office in 2008. Which office, however, is up for discussion. (Click here for story.) Why are we having this discussion now? Because the type of offices for which she is considered a potential candidate require advance planning. From the story:

"I would also hope that she would be one of the folks who would take a serious look at challenging Elizabeth Dole in 2008," (state Democratic Party Chairman Jerry) Meek said.

If she really is entertaining that notion, the planning and fund raising for such a campaign needs to start early next year if not already. Something lower down on the food chain, like a congressional bid, could wait a while, but not much longer.

Click here for the full story.

The boys and girls over at Blue NC are chewing over Kay Hagan’s chances in ’08. Click here for background. A similar discussion took root over at Ed's joint.

What! John Edwards is running for president? Wow, you’d think this would be all over the … oh, wait, never mind.

At any rate, the worst kept secret in modern American politics is now official. Do you care? Are you among those happy to see Edwards running or in the camp that considers him seven-kinds-of-evil?

Drop me a line, I’ll be pondering his candidacy for an article in tomorrow’s paper.

Update: The Post carreid a transcript of Edwards' remarks in New Orleans this morning.

Update: Click here to link to Friday's story.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

So this post, on Edwards running for President, has garnered a few comments – both by e-mail and in the comments section.

Some have been positive, like this one from Linda in Greensboro:

John Edwards is a wonderful candidate for President and he has an excellent chance of winning this time. His platform and persona reminds me of John F. Kennedy. His wife is an impressive woman, strong, smart and compassionate.

But there have been a fair amount of folks who are put off by Edwards’. That and more, after the jump.

Looking back to former N.C. Sen. John Edwards' announcement he was running for president again, Asheville's Kerra Bolton compares Edwards and another likely contender. Sen. Barack Obama. She writes first of Obama:

He’s charming, intelligent and has a compelling personal story that he documented in his best-selling memoirs. But other than serving in the Illinois Legislature, Obama has no previous political experience.

Edwards, 53, has faced this "gravitas" question in the 2004 campaign. He slyly dodged it by focusing on his dreams for America’s future instead of dwelling on his past.

Click here for her full column.

While Edwards has done some work on this issue, and executed some artful dodges, he’s not out of the gravitas woods yet. Case in point, this column from Shawn Macomber:

Those who say John Edwards doesn't have the foreign policy credentials to lead the nation in a time of global war obviously haven't noticed the bracelet he wears to express solidarity with Sudanese refugees in Darfur. (Don't worry. He isn't shy about pointing it out.) Actually, if Edwards primary foreign policy goal weren't surrender in Iraq, I'd assume Elizabeth augmented this year's stocking full of Wendy's gift certificates--you know, the fast food joint where John, Elizabeth and a few dozen of their favorite media sycophants spend the Edwards' wedding anniversary--with a Weekly Standard subscription.

Hat tip to Bubba on the link.

Now, Edwards campaign won’t spend a whole lot of time trying to win over folks like Macomber or Bubba. But in some primaries where there are bunches of conservative Democrats – North Carolina’s comes to mind – and, if he gets that far, a general election, they will be going after some of the folks on the center-right that may be reading those two and others like them.

Which means the gravitas question is going to be around for a while. The question will be whether his work as a private citizen traveling and advocating will count as much in the minds of voters as the experience that comes serving in an elected position like the Senate.

More Update:

• Linkage from Edwards' own blog. (It's a bit hard to get to and I think you need a sign in.)
  
• For those who have asked, yes, Mathew spells his first name with one "t," not two as is more common.

Update:

• Click here to go to the story.
  
• Click here to read editor John Robinson's entry on the story and catch the discussion over there.
  
• Another post by Robinson on the Edwards subject.
  
• Sue has some thoughts.
  

I have a profile piece coming Sunday on Mathew Gross, a Greensboro resident who is former N.C. Sen. John Edwards' senior internet strategist for the 2008 presidential campaign. Gross worked for the Dean campaign and created Blog for America, which is still operating, although no longer as part of a campaign operation.

Some odds, ends, links and audio related to the story:

Public Policy Polling has surveyed Tar Heels on who they think might could be their next governor and president. Democrats were asked about Democratic contenders, Republicans about Republicans. From the news release:

Among Republican primary voters, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads his top competitors with the support of 30% of respondents. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received 29% support and Senator John McCain received 23% support.

Conservative activist Bill Graham is the frontrunner in the Republican gubernatorial field
with the support of 24% of likely Republican primary voters.

Former Senator John Edwards leads his home state with the support of 29% of likely Democratic primary voters in his race for President. Senator Hillary Clinton was supported by 16% of respondents, while Senator Barack Obama garnered support from 15%.

Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue is ahead of State Treasurer Richard Moore in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor, 32% to 20%.

Click here for the full report.

I really wouldn’t make too much of the numbers at this early stage of the game, but I do have some thoughts.

On the Republican side, it seems odd to me that McCain would be trailing among presidential contenders, but maybe the RINO (Republican in Name Only) patina that hangs about him sometimes does him harm in the wake of the Richard Morgan – Jim Black co-speakership mess.

I’m not at all surprised to see Edwards leading the field of Democratic presidential contenders but not running away with it. I think I’d be more skeptical of that number if it showed Edwards with a big lead right now. I’m a little surprised, but not totally shocked, that Sen. Clinton’s number is as high as it is here in the south, but that’s not completely out of line.

On the Republican side of the gubernatorial equation, you can see the results of what buying a lot of television commercials early will get someone like Bill Graham. But that race is anyone’s ballgame at this point.

On the Democratic gubernatorial equation, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue has had the higher profile job, so she has the higher profile numbers. We’ll see if she has a truly entrenched competitive advantage if Moore can’t move the needle any by November.

How many times does Easley have to say he’s not running for U.S. senator?

Those imps over at Public Policy Polling simply refuse to take the man at his word and did a test of Easley versus Sen. Elizabeth Dole among likely voters.

I would have liked to have seen a control candidate or two, like a generic Democratic choice or a Congressman or someone. Dole’s popularity has suffered during the past two years and one wonders if it’s Easley specifically fairing well against her or whether any credible candidate could.

In a comment to this post, Jim asks that I write something on Amanda Marcotte, former N.C. Sen. (and presidential candidate) John Edwards’ latest web hire.

Marcotte, formerly of Pandagon is one of two recent web hires. The other is Melissa McEwan, late of Shakespeare’s Sister.

She has only just gotten up and running at Edwards’ blog, but Marcotte has engendered a lot of hostile traffic on the conservative/Republican end of the blogsphere, who find her writings on the Duke Lacrosse case objectionable. She probably didn’t help her cause with those folks any when she deleted one of her more caustic posts from her blog, but of course not the Google cashe.

For whatever reason, McEwan has escaped the same push-back.

Jim says that since we wrote about Mathew Gross, Edwards’ senior internet strategist, we ought to profile all his other web staff to.

Well, after consulting with my bosses, we’re probably not going to file a piece for the newspaper on Marcotte. The only reason we profiled Gross was that he’s local: he lives in Greensboro, is part of the Greensboro blogging community, etc. . .

Marcotte is from Texas and doesn’t hold the same appeal for us. We haven’t, for example, profiled Edwards’ fund raiser or campaign manager or press person for the same reason. Were she from Greensboro (or Guilford or Rockingham counties for that matter) I’d probably be working on something already.

However, if you’d like to see what folks who are bothered about the hiring are writing, I can point you to the following:

• Town Hall.
• Beltway.
• Jawa.
• Malkin.

There are more, but that should get you started. And if you’re interested in an opinion from the flip-side, Cliff Schecter at Huffington writes on it.

As always, the comments link is open.

Closing the loop on this post, the Associated Press reports Edwards will keep his two new controversial bloggers.

For what it's worth, Media Matters has been pushing the flip side of this story pretty hard...something about glass houses and stone throwing.

WUNC's Laura Leslie points to the kind of publicity that a budding gubernatorial candidate can do without.

In the March 12, 2007, issue of Forbes magazine, Neil Weinberg investigates Richard Moore, State Treasurer of North Carolina, in “Pensions, Pols, Payola.”

As treasurer for the state, Moore is the sole fiduciary for the state’s retirement system, controlling $73 billion in assets. Forbes exposes how this gubernatorial frontrunner for 2008 rails against conflicts of interest on Wall Street, yet takes campaign donations from money managers eager for his business.

If you care to tiptoe through Moore's campaign finance records yourself click here.

(For you folks back in Greensboro, it doesn’t appear that Percy is a donor.)

So you’re a presumptive candidate for governor. You’ve just been pilloried in the national media for conflicts of interest related to your office.

You want to regain control of the story. So you:

a)Come out immediately, guns a-blazin’ to answer the charges.

b)Run and hide.

c)Hack off your local media, especially broadcasters.

For the answer, I refer you to an e-mail from State Treasurer Richard Moore’s office:

State Treasurer Richard Moore will hold an on-the-record pen and pad briefing for capital area reporters on the state pension fund’s investments on Friday, March 2nd at 11 a.m. The briefing will be held in the Dawson Conference Room on the first floor of the Albemarle Building (325 N. Salisbury Street). There will be time allotted for questions.

My colleagues in the broadcast media are understandably upset about this, despite being offered opportunities for “sound bites” afterward.

Although there is a tradition of doing this sort of thing is practiced in Washington, D.C., calling a press conference and then restricting the tools of the trade allowed is pretty much unheard of around these parts. And since we’re all doing audio and video now, it affects print reporters as much as broadcasters.

I (and many others) have asked for clarification and will post here when I get it.

Update:Laura over at WUNC has also engaged on this story. For the record, it does appear from a LEGAL perspective, Moore can set whatever rules he wants. Whether they make any sense, I'll leave that to you in the peanut gallery. The comments link is open.

Update2: Moore's press person writes back:

Thanks so much for your email. The Friday briefing is an opportunity for members of the Capital Press Corps to learn about the pension fund’s investments, basic investment strategy and industry standards. It was designed to give reporters a solid foundation in investments in order to inform their reporting going forward. That being said, the discussion will be on the record; questions will be taken; and handouts will be available.

I am asking that all reporters rely on “pad and pen” due to the location size and the number of potential attendees and in hopes of fostering an atmosphere of discussion. Treasurer Moore will be available after the briefing to provide video and audio for those reporters that would like it.

I’m pretty sure this is not going to deter very many folks from showing up with their full set of gear.

Update2: Laura writes back to Moore's folks:

With all due respect, excluding a third of the press corps from being able to gather on-the-record information does not foster an atmosphere of discussion - and it's ethically inappropriate for a public servant in a public building, talking about how he's managing public dollars.

It's also implausible to think there's no room in the Albemarle building large enough to accommodate cameras and microphones. That's
never been a problem in the past, when you *wanted* broadcast coverage.

I'll be bringing my recording equipment. So will a lot of other radio and tv reporters. If you choose to throw us out, or bar us, we'll be recording that. And it'll be that story - not Moore's investment success - which will become the headline.

Full disclosure, Laura and I are going to talk to a journalism class this afternoon. This post might be on our minds.

I’ll do a separate post on the substance of all this in a minute, but for those following the pen and pad stuff with Richard Moore, it came to a rather anticlimactic conclusion this morning.

I wandered into the conference room in question, and the television and radio guys were all set up. No hired goons were confiscating camera equipment at the door.

Moore cam in relatively on time, said their might have been some misunderstanding, and proceeded to give what was (to me anyway) a darned useful presentation.

If you’d like to hear him speak to the press issue, click here.

So why all the fuss? I can't really say. I’m just happy things turned out as they did, with EVERYONE getting their questions answered with whatever tools of the trade they wanted on hand.

For substance, another post is forthcoming after lunch.

This story regarding John Edwards’ fundraising has been making its way over the wires for the past few days:

RALEIGH - Democratic presidential contender John Edwards hopes to make some quick campaign cash off a conservative columnist's slur.

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word `faggot,' so I -- so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards," Ann Coulter told GOP activists attending the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday in Washington.

(snip)

Edwards' campaign sent an e-mail to supporters calling the comment a "shameless display of bigotry."

It asked supporters to help raise $100,000 in "Coulter Cash" so that the former N.C. senator could show "every would-be Republican mouthpiece that their bigoted attacks will not intimidate" him.

Using a highly publicized attack on one’s candidate to raise money from grass roots supporters is an idea straight out the Howard Dean 2004 presidential campaigns playbook, which makes sense given who his senior internet strategist is.

I’ll be interested to see if other candidates use this kind of fundraising judo, which is custom made to raise a little money from a broad base of donors. Given some of Barack Obama’s recent run-ins with unfavorable coverage, I would think his campaign would seize on the strategy as well.

Republican Sen. Fred Smith made his run for governor official today. From his news release:

"If we are going to create a government that trusts the people first and does not perpetuate bigger and more intrusive government - then we need a change in management in the Governor's office that will institute real reforms, Smith stated.

Standing on the steps of the Borden House, the cottage once a part of the Methodist Orphanage in Raleigh, Senator Smith told friends and media how "his Mom and Dad brought their family to this "special place" where they came to serve others many years ago. His father was a coach at the orphanage, and his mother a cottage "housemother" for 24 boys.

"Watching my parents, I learned firsthand what service to others could mean," Smith stated. "I began to hope that in someway, I could be like them and follow the example they had set for so many."

Smith campaign website is here.

He joins Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham (who brought your the stop illegal immigration and gas tax commercials) and former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr (late of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law) on the GOP side of the ledger.

These three have signed up for what may be one of the hardest gigs in North Carolina politics: wresting the governor's mansion from Democrats. Republicans have only held the state's top job for 12 of the past 100 years and a Dem has been in residence at moldy manor since 1993.

Gov. Mike Easley can't run for his job again in 2008, and it looks like the Democrats will pick from either Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue or State Treasurer Richard Moore. Neither of those two have officially announced they're running, which is sort of like a rhinoceros not announcing it’s sitting on your head...you kind of know it's there anyway.

Oh, and the Libertarians are apparently going to run Michael Munger.

From an Edwards for President campaign e-mail:

Elizabeth and John wanted me to tell you about a TV appearance that will be broadcast on Sunday night. They'll sit down for an interview on 60 Minutes with Katie Couric. The program is scheduled to air Sunday at 7:00 PM ET.

Given the announcement regarding Mrs. Edwards' health last week, it will probably be interesting.

So there's been news of late that U.S. Rep. Brad Miller might kind of, sort of, maybe be thinking about running against Elizabeth Dole.

So I guess the boys over at PPP decided to poll what that might look like:

According to a Public Policy Polling survey released today, if Congressman Brad Miller were to challenge Senator Elizabeth Dole in a 2008 race for the U.S. Senate he could be competitive. The survey of likely general election voters in North Carolina reveals that 44% of voters would choose Dole today and 33% would choose Miller, while 22% are undecided.

Of course, one wonders whether Miller will actually take the plunge. He’s begun acquiring seniority and status in the House, is in a district that he will seemingly always poll well in, and a Senate campaign would by no means be a certain proposition. While there is no sure thing in politics, do you trade in the low hanging fruit for a far from certain prize?

The pollsters over at Elon have been at it again and are ready to treat us to three days (today, Monday and Tuesday) of poll releases.

Today's (click here for the release and click here for more data) looks at likely contenders in the presidential and governor's races.

And the winner is ... I don't know.

No, really, more people answered "I don't know" or "Too early to tell" than actually choose a candidate. In fact, 87 percent of those who responded said they didn't have a choice in the governor's race.

The curious among you may remember polls by Civitas or PPP that seemed to show pretty firm indicators of support for one candidate over another.

So why is the Elon Poll so squishy?

A couple reasons:

• Elon merely asked who people would vote for, but did not give a list of choices. Other polls have given respondents a list of those who might be running to choose from.

• Elon did not poll "likely primary voters" but called a more general population-wide sample.

What does all this mean?

"What you're going to pick up framing it (the question) this way are the political elites," said Poll Director Hunter Bacot.

Those folks who had opinions in the Elon Poll were activists, gadflies or the politically engaged (probably campaign donors to boot).

The presidential campaign has made more noise, so you had more people give an answer. But over-all, the general population is not all that engaged in the 2008 campaign yet.

I love serendipity.

The same day I get an e-mail pimping a website urging Rep. Brad Miller to run for U.S. Senate (more here from Dome) I get this e-mail:

Tomorrow Public Policy Polling will be releasing a new poll featuring a hypothetical US Senate match-up between Elizabeth Dole and Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Remember the days when candidates had to get off their keisters to create their own buzz?

(Audio link below.) N.C. Treasurer Richard Moore - a declared candidate for governor, if you didn't know - stopped by the paper's Greensboro offices today and chatted for a while with editorial writer Doug Clark and myself.

I'll have more from that conversation later, but one bit was relevant to this week's budget festivities in the Senate.

Moore is not enamored with the $1.2 billion the Senate would spend on Certificates of Participation (known as COPs), which is a way for the state to borrow money without going to the voters for bond approval.

"It's got nothing to do with the worthiness of the projects," Moore said. He specifically pointed out the proposed nanotechnology school as a very good item on the list. (The Senate budget proposal would borrow $58 million to finish the school.)

But, he said, COPs should be used sparingly, only in instances where they are truly necessary such as building prisons or, say, replacing a school that had burned down.

The state constitution, he said, is fairly clear on how government should go about borrowing.

"If they're such great ideas, why can't we vote?" Moore said.

Of COPs in general, he said, "They should be rarely or if ever used."

Click here to listen to his full answer on the topic. (About 4:15 seconds.)

I just spoke to a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Brad Miller who said the Democratic Congressman won't run for Senate in 2006. Rumors had been running wide and deep that that Miller would challenge Republican Elizabeth Dole.

I'm scheduled to speak with Miller in the next little bit, and will bring you notes and audio from that conversation ASAP.

Update: Miller spoke to me and reporters from the AP and N+O at a downtown restaurant today. The bulk of our conversation happened inside, but we asked Miller to repeat himself outside so we could get audio without the cheesy elevator music that was playing in the background.

Click here to hear what he had to say.

Update: Miller said that he wanted to run against Dole, but he begged off because of the disruption that it would cause his wife, family and friends.

"As recently as last week I was inclined to do it," he said. But after hitting send on an e-mail to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) last night, he was done musing with the idea.

Miller talked about bills he hoped to file, including one on predatory lending, as well as his work on an oversight committee to "bring humility to those who have been without humility for a while."

His decision will put Democrats on the search again for a candidate to run against Dole, and there are at least one or two giving it some thought.

All the speculation about
who is going to run against Sen. Dole next year (it won't be Rep. Brad Miller) gets even more interesting in light of this post from the Washington Posts' "The Fix" blog:

Through May, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Committee had raised $48.6 million as compared to the $36 million collected by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. And, even though the two Republican committees have been outraised by $12 million by their Democratic counterparts, they have actually outspent the DSCC and DCCC $31.3 million to $23.7 million.

[Snip]

The gross disparity between the two sides is often lost in broader stories that look at the financial playing field. Why? Because the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee figures are added into the total. Through May 2007, the RNC had collected $39.8 million as compared to $24.6 million collected by the DNC. The RNC ended May with $15 million in the bank as compared to $5.5 million for the DNC.

And, in the 2006 cycle, the RNC played a huge role in the congressional elections -- transferring tens of millions of dollars to the House and Senate committees to bolster their efforts. In the case of the NRSC, the RNC actually jumped in to help fund a series of independent expenditure ads in places like Tennessee, Ohio and Missouri.

What does that mean here in North Carolina?

Strategically, Democrats have that much more incentive to find a credible candidate and spend heavily on the North Carolina race. The Republicans are not going to leave Dole's seat undefended. But plowing money into a hotly contested race here would sap the GOP's ability to play elsewhere in the country. Which means even a "second tier" candidate (someone other than Gov. Easley or Miller) might have that much more reason to expect some goodly amount of help from the national Democrats.

Chris Cillizza over at the Washington Post's "The Fix" says "John Edwards is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore." More from that post:

Over the last few weeks, a new John Edwards has emerged.

Beginning with the CNN/YouTube debate on July 24, Edwards has appeared far more angry -- outraged even -- at the current Administration, the war in Iraq and even many in his own party. At last weekend's YearlyKos presidential debate, Edwards worked himself into a lather on almost every question -- loudly proclaiming the need for real and big change while dismissing the half-measures and compromises advocated by some of his opponents.

Cillizza sees this as a tactic that could tap into the frustration felt by many in the Democratic party's base. Certainly, the tone echoes the first-shaking anger you see on a lot of sites in the liberal blogshpere.

And it is a marked contrast to the mainly upbeat, hope-for-tomorrow, we-can-do-it-together, Kumbaya optimism that has characterized Edwards the hand full of times I've seen him in person.

I guess my question is whether this is some new scripting - Edwards is a very discipline speaker who will stay on message even if you ask him what color shirt he's wearing - or whether he has tapped some genuine vein of aggravation within himself that's coloring his public appearances.

Public Policy Polling put out its latest survey of likely voters this morning. From the release:

Raleigh, N.C. - Barack Obama slid into third place among Democratic presidential candidates according to the Public Policy Polling’s latest primary tracking poll, leaving John Edwards and Hillary Clinton ahead of the field with 29% each. Last month, the top three candidates were in a statistical tie among likely Democratic primary voters.

Fred Thompson kept his lead among Republicans with the support of 30% of
respondents. He was followed by Rudy Giuliani (20%), Mitt Romney (12%) and a
sinking John McCain (7%).

Perhaps the most notable change was Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue reestablishing
a double digit lead (38-28%) over State Treasurer Richard Moore in the Democratic
gubernatorial race. The race had stagnated in previous months with Perdue holding a
four percent lead.

The horse-race stuff is nice, but I what caught my eye this morning was the issue gap between Democrats and Republicans. Dems put the War in Iraq down as the most important issue to them (48%), followed in a distant second by the economy and jobs.

Republicans, too, put the War in Iraq the most pressing issue they saw (34%), but it wasn't so far out front. A relatively close second was immigration. The economy and jobs was way down their list.

This was a pattern that I think we saw in the last election. GOP voters have seized on immigration as an issue and their candidates are happy to talk about it. The problem is, the issue so far hasn't caught on in the Democratic ranks. So Republicans are stuck talking up border security to keep their base happy but it doesn't win over any Democrats, which they need to do in order to win statewide office.

That's got to be quite the conundrum for the Republican gubernatorial contenders, who still all trail undecided by a wide margin. Meanwhile, a third of Democrats say they are still undecided in the race for governor.

Over at the News & Record's religion blog, Nancy McLaughlin asks whether Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney can get past his Mormon religion. In a developing conversation, commenters say it's a matter of him being in the wrong club.

So Greensboro journalist Ed Cone interviewed Elizabeth Edwards for a CIO Insight article on campaign trends:

The Web can be liberating. "It's about bypassing the sieve of the mainstream media," says Elizabeth Edwards, wife and confidant of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards. "The idea that you have people standing between you and the voter is diminished, and the capacity to speak directly empowers candidates to trust their own voices." With Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hogging media coverage, campaigns can push their messages without paying for ads.

"In some ways, it's the way we have to go," Edwards says. "We can't make John black, we can't make him a woman. Those things get you a lot of press, worth a certain amount of fundraising dollars. Now it's nice to get on the news, but not the be all and end all." (Bloggers note: bold mine.)

The larger companion piece is here.

Now that's a dandy way to illustrate how the web might help your campaign overcome certain liabilities, like when two candidates are crowding out the free media time.

But if you're thinking that the quote got some play and maybe blown out of proportion a bit in the wider blogsphere, you'd be right. Here's Ed's take on the quote, plus more from:

• National Review.
• Advertising Age.
• Bob Parks, who I just found today looking about for people who picked up this quote.
• Tech President.

Now, I'll grant you that?s a sexy quote, but there is a larger point to all of this.

Pretty much all good presidential, and more so now statewide, campaigns have a strong online element. Blogs, social networking sites and even static websites (how very 2000!) all play a part. But what part?

Can the online elements help candidates overcome weaker fundamentals elsewhere in the campaign - say in fund raising for traditional media buys or an unfortunate campaign outburst? They haven't quite yet, or Howard Dean would have been the Democratic nominee in 2004 and Larry Kisselwould be a sitting U.S. Congressman.

Especially as I watch state and local campaigns, the online element is becoming something they need to keep up with the Joneses. It is part of the strategy, but even the fanciest of web tools haven't shown themselves capable of overcoming large voter registration margins or big disparities in ad time. Pig pickings, baby kissing and cheesy photo-ops with the local constabulary aren't going away any yet.

Will that change? My own take is that eventually, by sheer dumb luck if nothing else, the guy or gal who runs the best online effort is going to win. But I bet the rest of their campaign will be pretty good too.

I've been chatting up some folks about the Democratic shindig in Greensboro this weekend. It seems to be your standard issue political fare, although there was at least on campaign announcement.

Those who attended tell me that Beth Wood, who has worked in the state auditor's office for several years, plans to run for the Democratic nomination. Listed at the Director of Training Services on the auditor's website, Wood is lining up to challenger her old boss, Republican incumbent Les Merritt. He voice mail says she's out of the office this week, but we'll still try to catch up with her directly.

Also on the auditor front, an other Democratic name that got floated my way this morning was Joe Sinsheimer, who ran the JIMBLACKMUSTGO.COM website and more recently has been a thorn in the side of legislators like Rep. Thomas Wright who have failed to account fully for their campaign fundraising.

I asked Sinsheimer about this over e-mail. His reply:

"I have had people approach me about running for state auditor and while it is always flattering to be considered for a statewide office, I have no plans to run."

A couple folks sent this link regarding Wayne Goodwin not running for labor commissioner my way. From the post:

I will not be a candidate for North Carolina Commissioner of Labor in 2008.

This decision affords me the opportunity to further focus on the needs of my family, the most immediate members of which still are impacted by the rigors and fundraising pressures of my 2004 bid.

This decision also affords me the opportunity to continue my full-time duties serving as Assistant Commissioner of Insurance under the outstanding leadership of Insurance Commissioner Jim Long and to volunteer for him in his 2008 campaign for re-election.

He made the same announcement on his own blog.

I've seen Goodwin wielding the gavel at several statewide Democratic Party events over the past year. And during the legislative session, you can catch him around the legislative building either lobbying on behalf or against bills his department has an interest in or waiting to drive home with his wife, state Rep. Melanie Wade Goodwin.

So who's going to run to have their picture plastered in elevators across the state?

Not too long ago, I was roused from my pre-bed-time slumber in front of the television by a kind of fluffy campaign-style ad. Its basic message was that Dems in Congress were doing good things and the President Bush should listen to them on Iraq.

So I got to rooting around on YouTube today and ran across the thing. Take a listen. I'd be interested in knowing whether other folks had caught this thing and what they thought of it.

I've seen versions now that were sponsored by both the DCCC and the DSCC. In fact, I spied the version with the Senate campaign tag first and thought they might be softening the ground for an eventual candidate to enter the race against Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

It's definitely a little bit more warm and fuzzy that the other ad I've seen that they were running earlier this year in some other places. That one:

So, given we're months away from the primary, in the midst of municipal election season and there's not yet an announced contender for the Senate race, what purpose do these things serve? I have a call in to the DSCC on this but your take is welcome.

Update: A spokeswoman with the DSCC says that it was a national cable buy and ads were not placed in North Carolina specifically.

The ad, she said, was designed to "keep the pressure on the president and Republicans over Iraq," as well as keep voters up with what's going on in Congress.

Well, it sounds like the race for state auditor is under way.

I reported earlier this week that Beth Wood, who has been director of the State Auditor's training department, will run next year as a Democrat against her old boss, Republican Les Merritt.

Wood has worked in the auditor's office for 10 years, five as head of the training division.

For those of you from out of state: yes, we elect the state auditor here.

I finally was able to catch up with Wood this afternoon. She had been out of town a few days and tells me that she is no longer welcome at the department.

When I asked her to elaborate, she said she gave a 30-day notice on Friday, Aug. 24. She then headed off to Saturday's Democratic shindig in Greensboro. Wood hasn't formally announced her candidacy but did make her intentions to run known over the weekend.

Wood said she planned to take a couple days off this week and then come back and work until the end of September before launching her campaign.

"I didn't want to leave anyone in the lurch," she said. Wood said she wanted to take the time to train her replacement and make sure projects got handed off to the right folks.

But earlier this week, she started trading phone messages with the department's chief deputy, Kris Bailey

"I was asked not to come back," she said. "Well, I wasn't asked but I was told."

This seemed a bit odd to me, since most places would happily let an employee ride out the 30 days to tie up loose ends.

So I gave Chris Mears, a spokesman for Auditor Merritt a call.

After checking with Merritt, Mears said that Wood had asked to use her comp time to finish out through the month of September so that's why her departure was arranged this week.

"She has been with the agency long enough and she's built up enough time that she will finish out through Sept. 30 but she won't be present at the job, which is not a-typical," Mears said.

I asked a couple times about the difference in interpretation.

"My understanding is there wasn't any disagreement about using her comp time," Mears said.

Mears said that she had a "short, casual" conversation with Merritt on that Friday and that it was Bailey who made the decision about her work status on Monday.

Both Mears and Wood agree that it was Bailey with whom she traded voice mails and that she finally met with department HR folks today to process her out of office. But those are the only point upon which their stories match up completely.

Wood insists that she made it clear she wanted to stick around to make sure her department had a smooth handoff. She described how her voice mail and e-mail access were shut off by Tuesday and how her secretary was asked to box her personal belongings rather than letting her return to her desk.

"I feel back that I'm walking away from there with things left undone," Wood said. "I'm frankly afraid that if things start to fall through the cracks, Les (Merritt) is going to use that against me in the campaign."

So one possible interpretation of all this is that there was a miscommunication between the parties. Another is that an incumbent is pulling the rug out from under a political rival. Given what I have heard so far, I don't know I can make that call right yet.

But no matter which side of the story you find more credible, it sounds like these two might have some issues to work out on the campaign trail.

From a story scheduled for tomorrow's paper:

State Sen. Kay Hagan said Tuesday she is "looking into" a run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Elizabeth Dole .

The Greensboro Democrat's name has been raised frequently by political analysts over the past nine months as a potential contender. However, this is the first time Hagan herself has directly addressed the possibility of challenging Dole, who faces re-election in 2008.

Until now, Hagan has been circumspect in talking about a potential run, saying during this year's legislative term that she was focused on completing the state budget.

Tuesday, Hagan said Dole is "vulnerable" to a challenge.

"I guarantee you, I wouldn't be thinking about this if I didn't think she was," Hagan said. "She's definitely vulnerable. I don't think she's in North Carolina very much and I couldn't tell you a thing she's done for North Carolina."

Hagan said that she would make a final decision on whether to run "sooner rather than later."

She joins at least two other Democrats in considering a run versus North Carolina's senior senator. Rep. Grier Martin, a Wake County legislator, and Forsyth County Commissioner Ted Kaplan, a former state Senator, also have expressed interest publicly.

Martin recently attracted noticed from political insiders when he met with officials who run the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a conduit for national money and support.

Click here for the full story from today's paper.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue says it looks like someone is doing opposition research on her campaign from a state computer. Of course, that someone seems to be working for State Treasurer Richard Moore, her rival in the Democratic primary for governor next spring.

For those not imbued in the political arts, opposition research is what one campaign does to find facts, figures and, yes, sometimes just good ol' mud to sling against an opponent.

In a letter (Click here to read, along with various backup material. It's a PDF.) to the state auditor's office, Perdue outlines the following:

• Someone sent her office several request for public information regarding The Task Force for a Healthier North Carolina, a committee that operates under the Health and Wellness Trust Fund, which is chaired by Perdue.
• Those requests ask that material be sent to Moore's campaign office.
• The requests themselves seem to have been generated from a state computer, or at least a state IP address, at the Treasurer's official office.
• Perdue says she has complied with the requests.

Now, the state auditor is Republican Les Merritt, who is himself running for re-election. So here you have a request for a Republican to mediate a political tiff between two high-profile Democrats.

Of course, it's entirely possible that Perdue's office sent the letter to the State Auditor just to create a public record, which could then be disseminated to the media, via the official state computers at the Lt. Governor's office, but I'm sure that's neither here nor there.

I have a couple calls and e-mails in to see if we can sluice through this latest dust up.

Update: Moore's campaign responds. From campaign manager Jay Reiff:

The Lt. Governor's attack today is the height of hypocrisy and phoniness. Everyone knows Beverly Perdue's chief of staff has been running her unofficial gubernatorial campaign for the last two and a half years. This is a political stunt designed to keep people from looking into the fact that he just now started working full-time for her campaign. Additionally, Perdue's campaign chair Robert Zaytoun, who is also a member of her Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission, recently submitted multiple extensive records requests of the Department of State Treasurer.

In an attached letter, we are asking the State Auditor to look into the use of state resources for political purposes out of the Lieutenant Governor's Office. Treasurer Moore will look into whether anyone in the Department of State Treasurer has used state resources inappropriately. We call on the Lieutenant Governor to do the same thing.

Click here for the afore mentioned letter.

Glad we're having a nice clean campaign, focused on the issues.

Update: From the State Treasurer's office:

"The Department of State Treasurer takes these allegations seriously and will look into them. Political motivations are clearly the basis for these actions."

Update: The Treasurer's office updates us again, this time with a quote from Stacey Phipps, the department's chief of staff:

"It was brought to my attention this afternoon that Julie White, an employee of our Department, sent public records requests using a private email account from a state computer under the name of one of her relatives. To our knowledge, no laws were broken. However, Ms. White has violated departmental policies. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken."

In case you haven't noticed, this blog occasionally strays from the state capital here in Raleigh to folks who are in that other capital up I-95, or just want to be. And no, I'm not talking about Richmond.

In the race for the White House, I try to keep loose tabs on John Edwards, the former North Carolina Senator who has pretty much taken up permanent residence at third in the polls for the Democratic primaries.

Slate columnist John Dickerson has a piece up right now called "Time To Panic?" In it, he asks if Barack Obama should be worried that he's loosing ground in the polls to Hillary Clinton. In it, he offers Obama several pieces of advice on bouncing back. Among them is this bit regarding Edwards:

Let John Edwards tear down Clinton. Edwards is the Democratic candidate who looks the most like an insurgent. His strategy may seem frantic at times (no SUVs one day, no congressional health care the next), but at least he looks passionate.

On the same day Obama was giving his low-key tax speech, John Edwards' senior adviser Joe Trippi was going after Hillary Clinton with a meat hook over a fund-raiser she was holding. "That no one in the Clinton campaign—including the candidate—found anything wrong with holding this fundraiser is an indication of just how bad things have gotten in Washington—because there isn't an American outside of Washington who would not be sickened by it," he wrote.

Perhaps Obama can benefit from whatever paint Edwards can strip from Clinton, as Edwards benefited in 2004 from the fight between Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt. But so far, Edwards' attacks haven't worked against Clinton, and there's also no guarantee that the votes would go to Obama even if Edwards were effective.

Click here for the full story.

This notion that "Edwards' attacks haven't worked against Clinton" got me to thinking. Why not? As many strategic advantages (lots of money from powerful contributors, married to the former president, experience in the health care arena, etc...) Clinton brings to the table, she also brings a host of liabilities (lots of money from powerful contributors, married to the former president, experience in the health care arena, etc...).

That which makes here strong also makes her eminently attackable. So what gives?

It may be because Edwards is not only battling his own opponents. Check out this AP column headlined: Is Edwards Real or a Phony?" Edwards is still battling back at the demons of his own campaigns slipups. And that's pretty much a full month after the hedge fund story has been out of the news cycle.

In order to break through the noise, Edwards needs to keep his campaign's house in order.

If Edwards can keep the stories about his campaign from being "here's how bubba shot himself in the foot today" and more about his plans and policies, his critique of Clinton might begin to gain a little more traction. Of course, if that doesn't begin to happen by, say, December or very early January, it may be time for Obama and Edwards to panic.

So, I'm waiting about for folks to return phone calls this afternoon (you know who you are) and trying to be productive at the same time. So I was looking about on YouTube to see who on North Carolina's political scene has been posting videos there.

Treasurer and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore has quite a few up, mostly posted by his campaign and clips from press conferences or news broadcasts.

So what about his chief Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue? I could find only one, and it was posted by the Moore campaign. It is meant, I think, to continue firing away at the Lt. Governor on the abortion issue. Moore has accused Perdue of playing both sides, as detailed in this Under the Dome column.

Here's the video itself:

Does this sort of thing matter? It might. Certainly reporters and bloggers will be looking to YouTube among other sources for primary material to back up our stories over the next year. If a candidate doesn't have material up on a favored medium, that could hurt in intangible but very real ways.

My bet would be Perdue will start hitting the net in earnest after her Oct. 1 announcement.

Update: Perdue does have a website, although it pretty much is one big picture right at the moment, and she has a Facebook group.

Moore's website is here but I don't see a Facebook page for him.

By the way, Republican candidates for governor seem to be similarly disengaged from YouTube, although I was able to find at least one video for GOP candidate Bill Graham.

Update: Sen. Fred Smith, another GOP candidate, has himself a YouTube video too, of what looks to be a campaign commercial. (Hat tip: the Dome-meister.)

Eddie Davis, who heads NCAE says he is running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. From his news release:

After a great deal of dialogue and positive feedback from family, friends, colleagues, and advisors, I have reached a decision about my involvement in the election of 2008. Thus, I am announcing today that I will be a candidate for the position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the spring of 2008. A formal campaign launching activity will occur on Saturday, October 6 in Asheville.

I strong believe that my candidacy will bring excitement, hope, and the joy of learning to citizens from Murphy to Manteo. Using my extensive classroom teaching experiences and my advocacy skills, I will seek to reach and motivate students, parents and community leaders in order to make public education great in North Carolina. Also, I plan to use the campaign to create more respect, responsibility, and vision for the practitioners in all of our schools. I believe that my stellar 30-year teaching career makes me politically and educationally qualified to be the drum major for life-long learning for each and every student.

I will participate in the pilot program that was recently approved by the North Carolina General Assembly. This new law will place limits on the amount of campaign contributions and, thus, will make the investment into the superintendent’s contest more affordable and more equitable for regular citizens of North Carolina.

As a candidate, I will strive to serve as a positive role model for students and for all citizens. I look forward to running a clean, respectful, and issue-driven campaign.

Davis will apparently give a primary challenge to incumbent June Atkinson, who sent this news release back last week:

Today, State Superintendent June Atkinson announced that she will seek re-election. She states that her number one priority is to increase the North Carolina high school graduation rate. Recently, it was announced that the 2007 graduation rate is 69.4 percent, up from the 2006 rate of 68.3 percent. In addition, she reports that even with the increase in standards in the state’s accountability program, the growth and proficiency rates of schools are up. Schools making or exceeding growth targets grew by 17.9 percentage points from 2005-06 to 2006-07 school year.

Dr. Atkinson says, “Our students’ learning is unprecedented and the state public education system is moving in the right direction. I will continue to work with all partners — the State Board of Education, local school leaders, teachers, elected officials, businesses, professional organizations, and parents to ensure our students are prepared for a global economy. A focus on using technology in meaningful ways and developing a system of professional development will be key to improving student achievement. There is much work to be done to ensure students are prepared for the 21st century.”