kmr's blog

Via TPM, via PPP:

Another poll shows a very close race in North Carolina, a state that hasn't voted Democratic since 1976 -- suggesting yet again that Barack Obama could be on the cusp of dramatically expanding the map for Dems.

The new numbers from Public Policy Polling (D): McCain 47%, Obama 44%, and Barr 3%, with a ±3.4% margin of error. Four weeks ago, it was McCain 45%, Obama 41%, and Barr 5%.

Here's the link to Tom Jensen's blog that's mentioned in the story.

Unless I missed something, it looks like my metro daily newspaper has featured 15 op-eds over the past week — all written by men.

Memo from a longtime N&O reader:
First, let me just say that Bill Kristol is an idiot who makes stuff up.
Second, could you add a regular columnist to the op-ed page who is not a member of the nearly all-male glee club from the NYT and WaPo? There are a number of good writers out there, some of whom happen to be actual women.
Third, David Broder and Mo Dowd do not count as liberal balance.
You're playing two kinds of music here — country and western. So, you've got far right, right and center-right views covered. Bravo. Where's the rest of us?

On the CNN site via the Heritage Foundation.
Jesse Helms died at 1:18 a.m. today.

Via the Citizen, this week's Letter from the Editor:

I was in the Triad the other day visiting with some fellow media types including blogger Jon Lowder, who related an incident he’d happened upon while returning from a recent visit to Pittsboro.

Lowder encountered a traffic stop on N.C. 87 just inside the Alamance County line. After watching the sheriff deputies and highway patrol checking licenses and looking over the cars, Lowder said it was apparent that the law was interested in vehicles with Hispanic occupants and not much interested in anyone else.

Spent a good deal of time looking at solar and wind for the house after a friend alerted me to the fact that even Costco is selling the stuff.

While I'm sure Perdue's people have excellent poll numbers explaining why they want to bring up vouchers, I'm a little baffled as to why they'd want to come out and attack on it so quickly. It just looks very contrived and allows McCrory a chance to emphasize the change-the-tone theme.
If the general election strategy is to attack rather than inspire, this race could tighten very, very quickly.

Democracy NC sent this out on Sen. Obama's opt out of public financing:

Statement from Bob Hall, Executive Director of Democracy North Carolina, regarding Barack Obama’s decision to forego participation in presidential public financing program:

Senator Obama’s decision is predictable, given the shortcomings of the presidential public financing program and his capacity to raise money from private sources. The current program lacks the carrots and sticks – the incentives and penalties – to attract and sustain participation by major party candidates.

Further update: N&O shedding 70 jobs, consolidating editions down to two: State and Final. Publishers' message to staff.
Wow.
McClatchy cutting workforce 10 percent citing slow ad sales.
(Then, there's the matter of all that debt.)
Bloomberg says the tally will reach 1400 jobs.
Via the N&O: Serious cuts at the Char-O including 22 newsroom positions.

It was not immediately clear how the N&O will be affected by today's announcement. More details are expected after affected employees are notified.

Here's the link to the Rasmussen poll story on Dole/Hagan.
Here's the link to the one showing a two point margin for McCain over Obama.