WSJ and TNR on Hagan-Dole
The U.S. Senate race between Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole has been popping up in the ol' Google reader. The general trend seems to be national writers assessing North Carolina's campaign as increasingly competitive. Here are a couple of examples:
The New Republic blog breaks down Dole's barking dog ad:
In what is shaping up to be a hotly contested race, North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole has released a new ad admonishing her opponent Kay Hagan, a state senator, for lying. The spot is a response to ads that aired in August decrying Dole's work in the Senate as ineffective.[snip]
There is another interpretation of the dog, however--one that's even less flattering. Some critics, including some people close to Hagan, have said that in using the dog, the Dole camp is implying that Hagan is whining, or--no way to put it delicately--that she is a bitch.
Sarah Palin thrilled the GOP this week in St. Paul, reminding more than a few GOP veterans of how Elizabeth Dole wowed them at the 1996 Republican convention in San Diego. Too bad Mrs. Dole wasn't there to enjoy it. She skipped this week's festivities to focus on her re-election battle against state Senator Kay Hagan in what has become a must-watch race.And for good reason: A new poll by a Democratic firm shows Mrs. Hagan with a five-point lead, echoing a host of recent polls that show a tight race getting tighter. Mrs. Dole is the biggest star on the North Carolina stage now that John Edwards is in disgrace. Chapel Hill-based venture capitalist Alston Gardner emailed us to explain why she's in trouble: "Much like John Edwards, she's just another pretty face that hasn't delivered for the citizens and leaders of North Carolina. Her focus has always been on a national audience and not doing the less glamorous, but politically necessary constituent services." Ouch.
Comments (1)
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I certainly hope Mrs. Hagan is the right choice, because since I formed an opinion of Mrs. Dole's campaign tactics in her first bid for office, I have had a hard time imagining her doing anything which was not self-serving while in office, and have eagerly awaited an alternative.
Posted on September 25, 2008 4:22 PM