News-Record.com

So Obama has claimed the nomination and Clinton supporters are wondering what's next.

I was hanging with the legislature last night, so I neglected to post on the end of the primary.

As the primaries were shutting down, both campaigns sent e-mails to supporters. Obama's was very triumphant sounding, as you might expect:

I'm about to take the stage in St. Paul and announce that we have won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

It's been a long journey, and we should all pause to thank Hillary Clinton, who made history in this campaign. Our party and our country are better off because of her.

I want to make sure you understand what's ahead of us. Earlier tonight, John McCain outlined a vision of America that's very different from ours -- a vision that continues the disastrous policies of George W. Bush.

But this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past and bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

It's going to take hard work, but thanks to you and millions of other donors and volunteers, no one has ever been more prepared for such a challenge.

Thank you for everything you've done to get us here. Let's keep making history.

Barack

Meanwhile, Clinton's e-mail was more muted in tone and doesn't exactly scream "I give up:"

Over the course of this campaign, I have seen the promise of America in your courage and character, your energy and ingenuity, and your compassion and faith.

Your spirit has inspired me every day in this race. While I traveled this country talking about how I wanted to help you -- time and again, you reached out to help me. To grab my hand or grip my arm, to look me in my eyes and tell me, don’t quit, keep fighting, stay in this race for us. There were days when I had strength enough for the both of us -- and on the days I didn't, I leaned on you.

This has always been your campaign, and tonight, there's no one I want to hear from more than you. I hope you're as proud as I am of what we've done and that you'll take a moment to share your thoughts with me now at my website.

I want to congratulate Senator Obama and his supporters on the extraordinary race that they have run. Senator Obama has inspired so many Americans to care about politics and empowered so many more to get involved, and our party and our democracy are stronger and more vibrant as a result.

Whatever path I travel next, I promise I will keep faith with you and everyone I have met across this good and great country. There is no possible way to thank you enough for everything you have done throughout this primary season, and you will always be in my heart.

Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton

Just to round things out, here was the e-mail sent about the same time by the McCain campaign. If was very much a get-down-to-business affair:

My Friends,

Tonight, we can say with confidence the primary season is over, and the general election campaign has begun.

Each American faces a decision this election and the choice between my candidacy and Senator Obama's could not be more clear. This is a change election. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change; between going forward and going backward.

The right change recognizes that many of the policies and institutions of our government have failed. The right kind of change will initiate widespread and innovative reforms in almost every area of government policy from energy to taxes to government spending and the military.

The right change will stop impeding Americans from doing what they have always done, overcome obstacles and turn challenges into opportunities. Today, I humbly ask you to join my campaign for the right change, as we move forward together as a nation. Please follow this link to make your generous campaign contribution right away.

The wrong change looks not to the future, but to the past for solutions that have failed us before and will surely fail us again. Like others before him, my opponent seems to think government is the answer to every problem. That's not change we can believe in.

My friends, we're not a country that would rather go back than forward. We're the world's leader, and leaders don't hide from history. They make history. If we're going to lead, we must reform a government that has lost its ability to help us do so.

You can take direct action today by making a donation of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, or any amount up to the legal limit of $2,300. Your generous support will enable me to take my message of the right change and reform directly to the American people.

I don't seek the presidency on the presumption I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me. I assure you that if I'm elected president, the era of reform and problem solving will begin. From my first day in office, I'll work tirelessly to make America safe, prosperous and proud. And that, my friends, is the kind of change we need.

Sincerely,

John McCain

P.S. We need change in this country, but we need the right change. I am prepared to lead this country in the right direction, but I will need your help to get elected. Follow this link to make a donation of any amount up to the legal limit of $2,300. Your generous support will make all the difference in determining the type of change our next president brings to this nation. Thank you.

This latest news release from Sen. Kay Hagan's campaign provides more fodder to throw on the exactly-how-close-is-the-Hagan-Dole-race pile:

GREENSBORO, N.C. – State Senator and U.S. Senate Nominee Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) is within striking distance of incumbent Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole, according to an internal poll, the details of which were released by Kay’s campaign. More importantly, support for the one-term Senator is soft, and Kay has much more room to grow than Dole.

The poll shows Kay with 44 percent in an initial head to head matchup against the first term legislator, while Dole polls at 48 percent. The difference is well within the poll's margin of error, and confirms the results from four independent polls depicting the race as one of the most competitive in the 2008 cycle.

"This poll confirms what we have been hearing all across the state -- North Carolina needs new leadership in Washington, and while Elizabeth Dole is a nice person, she's not an effective leader," said Hagan Communications Director Colleen Flanagan. "Elizabeth Dole is vulnerable because on issue after issue, she has sided with lobbyists and their special interests, failed to achieve any real legislative success, and played partisan politics to the determent of North Carolinians."

A majority of voters in this poll confirmed what Kay and her campaign has been hearing all across the state - voters know that Dole hasn't been working for them, she's been working for Bush and the special interests, and it's time for new leadership in Washington.

While Dole possesses nearly universal name recognition, the poll indicates that Dole’s support is soft, with only 48% of respondents saying they would vote to reelect her. "There are few voters who don’t already know [Dole], making it difficult for her to expand her support," wrote Kay’s pollsters John Anzalone and Jeff Liszt in the polling memo. In addition, her favorable/unfavorable ratio was less than 2:1, a telling statistic for an incumbent.

"Even more telling than how competitive this race is, is how much support Kay receives once voters know more about her and her record of results in North Carolina," Flanagan said. "Our vigorous campaign schedule and grassroots activities like canvassing, phonebanking, creating a statewide network of all-volunteer county and campus captains will only help to spread the word about Kay and her ideas to help fix what’s broken in Washington."

The poll surveyed 800 likely 2008 general election voters in North Carolina and was conducted May 14-21 by Anzalone-Liszt Research. The margin of error of the poll was ±3.5%.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and state Sen. Kay Hagan have been getting their campaigns on and will have some big-time political figures coming in to help them out over the next few days.

For Dole, former Gov. Mike Huckabee will be in town Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the two are due to stump together in the Charlotte area, according to Dole's campaign.

Then on Saturday, Huckabee is due to speak at the N.C. Republicans state convention around noon time. Dole's folks say he'll be meeting and greeting on behalf of Dole earlier that morning, from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

On Monday, Hagan will have Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and John Tester of Montana in town for a fundraiser.

It's worth noting that both McCaskill and Tester are superdelegates to the Democratic Convention who have declared for Obama. Tester is a more recent convert to the cause - taking sides only after his state's primary - but McCaskill came to North Carolina to stump for Obama and got involved in the blow-up over the gas tax.

Update: Former Gov. Jim Hunt is also on board for the Monday fundraiser. He's been on record as a Hagan supporter since the beginning of the campaign.

One wonders what the national press might actually accomplish if they invested the energy they spend on speculating about North Carolina's political competitiveness into covering the state.

But I'm told I'm in a cranky mood this morning.

At any rate, Atlantic political blogger Marc Ambinder gives his take:

NORTH CAROLINA - Democrats insist that this race will competitive and that Kay Hagan will, even if she doesn’t beat Sen. Elizabeth Dole, come within a few points. Watch for both parties to put money into the race. Prediction: if the presidential race is somehow competitive in NC, the Senate race will be, too.

Your own insightful commentary welcome in the comment links.

Early voting for the Democratic runoff for the state's labor commissioner race began today.

John Brooks asked for the special election after a close finish behind Mary Fant Donnan in the May 6 primary.

Nobody seems to expect people to rush to the polls in this race, which will cost Guilford County about $150,000 to pull off. Right now, polling locations are open for early voting in the Greensboro and High Point elections offices. All regular polling locations will open for the June 24 special election.

Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor, is due to be in town for a meet and greet slash fundraiser on June 10. Linda Carlisle, who has recently stepped off the lottery commission, will host at her home up on Rambling Road. They're looking for $150 a pop to get in the door.

The answer to that headline question is "probably," according to the book "Just How Stupid Are We?", which was reviewed by Salon.Com:

Stated this baldly, Shenkman's thesis has the sting of novelty, but in its rough outlines, it's no different from what Alexander Hamilton was arguing more than 200 years ago. Indeed, as Shenkman usefully reminds us, our constitutional history betrays from the very start "a constant tension between faith in The People and contempt for them." Madison and Jefferson may have talked a good game, but many of the Founding Fathers lived in terror of mob rule, which is why, under the original Constitution, only the House of Representatives could be directly elected.

[snip]

At any rate, representative democracy is a hard genie to put back in the bottle. As Shenkman admits, with more than a touch of rue, "We cannot fire the American people." He holds out hope, however, that we can downsize them. Among the bizarre trial balloons he lofts for enhancing political discourse are requiring voters to pass civics tests (shades of the Jim Crow literacy tests), letting state legislatures once again choose senators, and restoring the Electoral College's historic autonomy in electing presidents.

Because letting a group of select insiders make decisions about who should hold more power usually turns out to be a corruption-free bargain made on its merits, right?

Well, this will feed the discussion over whether Sen. Barack Obama will contest North Carolina during the presidential campaign. From Obama's folks:

CHICAGO, IL—The Obama campaign announced today that Senator Obama will launch a two-week economic swing—the “Change that Works for You” tour—on Monday, June 9. Obama will travel across the country, talking to Americans about how the economy affects their everyday lives. He’ll hold events with voters where they work and where they live, discussing the challenges we face and his plans to turn the economy around.

The tour will kick off on Monday with an economic speech in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“The middle class has always been the engine of prosperity in this country—but for nearly eight years we’ve had an administration that tells working people ‘you’re on your own,’” Senator Obama said. “Not when I’m President. I’ll reform our tax code to benefit the middle class instead of the big corporations. I’ll make sure that quality health care is affordable and accessible for every American. And I’ll provide real relief from the housing crisis by creating a foreclosure prevention fund, providing a tax break for homeowners, and cracking down on fraudulent lenders. Those are the kind of solutions that will make a difference for working Americans—and that’s the kind of change we’ll be discussing on this tour.”

You can learn more about Barack Obama’s economic policies HERE. More details of the
“Change that Works for You” tour will be released when they are available.

MONDAY, JUNE 9
Raleigh, NC
SPEECH ON “CHANGE THAT WORKS FOR YOU”

North Carolina State Fairgrounds
Exposition Center
1025 Blue Ridge Blvd
Raleigh NC 27607

Doors Open: 11:00 AM

The event is by invitation only.

Sen. Barack Obama's N.C. appearance this Monday has folks chewing on this question: what exactly is he up to? Does one of the Senate's most liberal/progressive members think he's going to turn a reliably red state blue? Or is this some sort of campaign head fake, a quick dodge to confuse the opposition while he breaks the other way?

A New York Times story offers one of several possible explanations. I say one of several because I think if you polled the heart-of-hearts of 10 Obama campaign strategists, you might just get three or four different answers.

But this story suggests that North Carolina could be a sort of holding action, designed to cause attrition on the other side as much as score a full on victory. From the second half of the story:

Mr. Obama's aides said some states where they intend to campaign - like Georgia, Missouri, Montana and North Carolina — might ultimately be too red to turn blue. But the result of making an effort there could force Mr. McCain to spend money or send him to campaign in what should be safe ground, rather than using those resources in states like Ohio.

Mr. Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said that the primary contest had left the campaign with strong get-out-the-vote operations in Republican states that were small enough that better-than-usual turnout could make a difference in the general election. Among those he pointed to was Alaska, which last voted for a Democrat in 1964.

"Do we have to win any of those to get to 270?" Mr. Plouffe said, referring to the number of electoral votes needed to win the election. "No. Do we have reason to think we can be competitive there? Yes. Do we have organizations in those states to be competitive? Yes. This is where the primary was really helpful to us now."

I don't know if a state where you've had a Democratic governor 16 years running and nearly unhindered control of the Democratic legislature for nigh on a century really qualifies as "too red," but one can't ignore the last 30-plus years of Tar Heels voting for Republican presidential candidates in the general election.

Curiously, I've heard similar theories about Congressional and Senate campaigns. National or state strategists will look for credible, well funded challengers who might not have enough electoral oomph to win but can keep the incumbent pinned down.

I would think that is one reason Democrat Kay Hagan's race against Republican U.S. Senate incumbent Elizabeth Dole is getting so much attention. Not only is there the primary objective of winning a seat in the Senate that could help secure the 60-40 majority that Democrats fervently desire, but there's a secondary benefit. Even if Hagan loses, if she runs a good campaign she'll keep Dole pinned down rather than letting her jet about the United States helping out other Republicans.

Now, no campaign ever - EVER - will say they're playing for a loss. They'd be dumb to and frankly, you can't run expecting to lose. So I would expect that Hagan's folks will be quick to say something like, "What, are you stupid? Look at the polling. She can win this thing." Likewise, I would doubt you're ever going to see a direct quote from Obama's folks saying they expect the campaign in North Carolina to be anything other than a success.

What would you like to ask candidates for the fall elections? Send questions you’d like to ask all of the candidates in a given race to eddie.wooten@news-record.com, and we will include a selection of your thoughts as News & Record staff meets with them in upcoming weeks.

And you thought we were done with visits from presidential candidates? I'm writing to you from inside the (mercifully air-conditioned) exposition center at the State Fairgrounds for Sen. Barack Obama's first appearance in North Carolina as the presumptive nominee.

Compared to a lot of the events I covered during the primary, this venue is positively cozy, only about 300 or 400 seats it looks to me. It was by "invitation only" so that will keep the crowd down.

The North Carolina Republican Party is making its voice heard relative to the Obama visit. Aside from multiple e-mails from just about every GOP list I belong too, the NC party's executive director Chris McClre planted himself outside the event in order to talk to reporters.

His best line riffed off Obama's theme of the day, "Change that works for you," which is the headline for an economic policy tour he's kicking off here.

"What he really wants is the change our of our pockets," McClure said, saying that Obama's proposals would cost taxpayers too much.

You can listen to more of his chat with the press by clicking here.

State Treasurer Richard Moore walked in a little while ago. He's no longer a candidate for governor, but still one of the chief financial movers and shakers in the state.

Moore, a Democrat, was one of - if not the first - candidate for statewide office to endorse Obama and said he was here to show his support. When asked to compare and contrast Obama and McCain, he said:

"To me, it's a no brainer between the two...What you will see in a McCain administration is a continuation of the worse economic polices of my lifetime."

Listen to his chat with the press by clicking here.

He did not, by the way, bite on questions that asked him to handicap Obama's chances of winning the state.

Doors opened at 11 a.m., so things are rolling by now, right?

Ha.

Folks at the fairgrounds are still waiting for things to get moving.

Two of Obama's economic advisors, Austan Goolsbee and Jason Furman, are doing a conference call with reporters right now to preview the speech.

According to Goolsbee, Obama will touch on three main points:

• * More stimulus. Money would come from the federal government to aid states so they don't have to slash services and more money would be put into unemployment insurance. Also, additional tax rebates targeted to lower income families so they would get money in their pockets. (I guess this is one place where he and President Bush agree?)

• * More work on housing policies, including stiffer penalties for those who offer bad loans. Also, Obama said he wants to deal with what he calls a "massive backlog in foreclosures" by way of a $10 billion fund to prevent further foreclosures.

• * Riffing off something mentioned above, tax cuts for those earning less than $40,00 a year and tax relief to help people make housing payments."

They also slammed McCain's economic policy.

Gov. Mike Easley is kicking off things here.

That's significant. You'll remember during the primary that Easley endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton over Obama.

"I know I'm late, but I'm on the train," Easley told the crowd to applause.

...I'll have more after his speech. Also on hand: John and Elizabeth Edwards, who got a standing O.

Click here to read the pre-fab version of Obama's speech.

Obama typically sticks close but delivers a few rhetorical embellishments along the way.

Click here to listen to audio from Obama's economic policy speech in Raleigh today.

Even better: Click here for about two minutes of AP video from the speech.

I noted earlier that it was pretty significant that N.C. Gov. Mike Easley endorsed Barack Obama today, delivering the introduction at a rally here in Raleigh.

Easley was booed and jeered during the Democrats Jefferson-Jackson dinner, held just before the May 6 primary and not 300 feet from today's event. That's because he backed Sen. Hillary Clinton in her presidential bid and Obama supporters let him know that they were not pleased. Some in the audience, mainly older Dems for who party functions were not place for that sort of thing, were taken aback by the outburst from Obama supporters.

I talked to Mac McCorkle this afternoon. He's a long-time Easley political strategist - now working for Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue - who said that Easley's support doesn't necessarily mean Obama will have an easy go of it here.

"I really don't want to over-play that," McCorkle said. But, he said, Easley's appearance helps in two respects.

First, it shows that Democrats are together in their backing of Obama.

"What he did today reflected the unified nature of the Democratic Party down here and cast aside the notion that there would be any problem unifying behind Sen. Obama," McCorkle said.

The primary campaign had been so long and hard-fought, that many think it might take time to smooth over the grudges held by supporters of either Obama or Clinton.

Second, McCorkle said, for those who Easley is a name brand, someone they trust, his backing will mean something. He characterized Easley's base as less-political, "hard working" North Carolinians who might be worried about one part of Obama's political pedigree or another.

"That's a good signal to that part of the electorate that somebody they're comfortable with is comfortable with Obama," he said.

Certainly, one would have had a hard time imagining this picture just three weeks ago.

(Photo Credit: The Associated Press)

Republican Sen. John McCain's has an interesting event coming up. From his press office:

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's campaign today announced that John McCain, along with RNC Victory Chair Carly Fiorina, will participate in a virtual town hall with Democrats and Independents this Saturday to discuss McCain's record of putting country before political party. Many town hall participants are expected to be former supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The town hall is part of the campaign's effort to build on growing support from voters who are rapidly joining "Citizens for McCain," a new grassroots organization headed by Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to rally Americans of all political parties to support John McCain's candidacy.

"The American people know I have a long record of bipartisan problem solving," said John McCain. "They've seen me put our country before any president, before any party, before any special interest -- and before my own interest. They might think me an imperfect servant of our country, which I surely am, but I am her servant first, last and always. I look forward to talking to voters across the country of all parties to present them with my vision for the future of our great nation."

Saturday, June 14, 2008
WHAT: Virtual Town Hall Meeting
WHO: John McCain & RNC Victory Chair Carly Fiornia
WHEN: Saturday, June 14, 2008; 3:30p.m. ET

PARTICIPATE: To participate, the general public should please visit cityhall.johnmccain.com.

Doug points to the Libertarian candidate for governor, Mike Munger, sounding off about being excluded from a series of upcoming gubernatorial debates. Dome also has coverage. (Also: BlueNC.)

Munger writes in his post:

It’s not the media; you can’t blame them. Having me in the debate is MUCH more interesting, and would improve ratings. You can count on the media actually preferring that I be included.

But I’m not. Because the Dems and Repubs don’t want even a whiff of competition to affect their cozy cartel.

Well, I'm not going to say "blame the media," but Munger might not be able to blame the Republican and Democratic competitors in the race. I asked both campaigns via e-mail if they had an opinion on Munger entering the debates.

Amy Auth, the newly minted spokesperson for Republican Pat McCrory, said: "Pat doesn't host debates -- he attends them. It is up to the folks planning the debates to decide who to invite."

David Kochman, spokesman for Democrat Bev Perdue, wrote, "We'll leave that decision up to the hosts. We're committed to the debates and will let them decide how to handle that."

So, both campaigns are on the record as saying it's up to the hosts to decide who to invite.

The first forum coming up is the N.C. Bar Association, a week from Saturday.

Russell Rawlings, a spokesman for the association, said that his group had not invited the Libertarian candidate nor did it plan to. The Bar Association has always focused its election-year forums on the Republican and Democratic candidates, he said.

Rasmussen Reports says their latest survey shows Republican Elizabeth Dole opening up a wider lead over Democrat Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate race. From their webiste:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in North Carolina shows Dole attracting 53% of the vote while Hagan, a state Senator from Greensboro, earns support from 39%. The current results are almost identical to the results from two months ago. In between, however, a bounce from her victory in the Democratic Primary pulled Hagan to a tie with Dole.

Dole now leads by nineteen points among women while Dole and by nine among men. Dole attracts 90% of the Republican vote and holds an eighteen point lead among unaffiliated voters. Hagan is supported by 68% of Democrats.

Dole is viewed favorably by 62% of the state’s voters, Hagan by 45%. For Dole, that’s a six-point improvement over the past month. For Hagan, it’s an eight-point decline. Some local observers say a television ad launched by the Dole campaign has been particularly effective.

My 5-cent take would be Dole has gotten a bump from going on the ad with two television commercials.

Related: Rasmussen says the presidential contest in North Carolina is closer than the Senate race.

Despite a sagging poll number, state Sen. Kay Hagan gets a shout out from the Washington Post blog "The Fix," which bumped her up a spot in their rankings of the most competitive U.S. Senate campaigns:

8. North Carolina (R): Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) knows she is in for a very tough race against state Sen. Kay Hagan (D). Witness her decision to begin running ads in recent days that tout her ability to deliver for the state -- ads that never make mention of her party affiliation or President George W. Bush. It's a sound strategy in such a difficult political environment, but you can bet Hagan and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will do their darndest to ensure every voter in the state knows Dole voted with Bush more than 90 percent of the time in her first term. Having now met Hagan in person, we can testify that she is a talented candidate and, as a woman, will be in a better position than 2002 nominee Erskine Bowles to attack Dole aggressively. (Previous ranking: 9)

Related to yesterday's post on whether Libertarians would be included in upcoming debates: I spoke with the Libertarian candidate for governor, Mike Munger, today by phone. He was kind enough to let me record the conversation to share with y'all:

• * Munger says debate organizers shouldn't substitute their own judgment for that of the voters.

• * There is reason to believe, Munger said, that 2008 will be a relatively good year for Libertarians. At least, he said, it will be easier for them to keep they ballot access.

• * But Munger cautions that Libertarians need to take advantage of their opportunity. "Let's be honest. I think a lot of people have the perception that Libertarians aren't serious about trying to win office and that some of the issues that Libertarians emphasis are not really mainstream politics," Munger said. "I think that's exaggerated but it's not completely untrue. So some of the burden on us is to be able to conduct campaigns responsibly, in a way that's directed toward issues people care about."

The newspaper version of all this should run on Monday.

I'll be trucking on down to the coast Saturday to write about the U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial debates hosted by the Bar Association . If you don't want to settle for my pithy prose or hacky multi-media efforts, you can catch them for yourself on Saturday courtesy of
News 14, which Time Warner subscribers get. From the channel's release:

Raleigh, NC (June 16, 2008) – News 14 Carolina, Time Warner Cable’s 24-hour local news network, will televise the first debates between the major candidates for Governor and U.S. Senate.

The first joint appearance of the two major party candidates for both offices is June 21st at the meeting of the North Carolina Bar Association in Atlantic Beach. Beverly Purdue, Pat McCrory, Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan will respond to questions from a media panel in two separate 45 minute forums.

News 14 Carolina will record both forums and televise them Sunday, June 22nd. The Gubernatorial forum will air at 11 am. The U.S. Senate forum will air at 1 pm.

Both forums will then be available on-demand to Time Warner Cable digital subscribers on Carolina on Demand. Carolina on Demand is a free, exclusive service of Time Warner Cable on channel 1234. It features news, sports and entertainment programming produced in and about North and South Carolina.

News 14 Carolina is sharing its coverage of the forums with UNC-TV. This will make them available to non-cable subscribers across North Carolina. “Time Warner Cable is dedicated to providing all citizens of our state with the information they need to make informed choices at the polls,” says News 14 Carolina VP & General Manager, Alan Mason. “We are pleased UNC-TV will telecast our coverage of this important event on its digital service across North Carolina.”

About News 14 Carolina:

News 14 Carolina is an exclusive service of Time Warner Cable. News 14 Carolina is available to all 1.3 million Time Warner Cable subscribers in the Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville and Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem television markets. News 14 Carolina will expand to the Wilmington, Morehead City and Jacksonville area on August 18.

About Time Warner Cable:
Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S., with technologically advanced, well-clustered systems located mainly in five geographic areas — New York state (including New York City), the Carolinas, Ohio, southern California (including Los Angeles) and Texas. As of December 31, 2007, Time Warner Cable served approximately 14.6 million customers who subscribed to one or more of its video, high-speed data and voice services.

Me, I'm in the newspaper business. Yeah, I'm a political junkie but I don't pretend to offer campaigns advice because it'd be worth the price they'd pay: nothing.

That said, Republican Pat McCrory, a candidate for govern, put out