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John Boehner vs. Deval Patrick: Just another day of dueling messages in battleground North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – This election season, North Carolina is almost as cool – or as hot — as Ohio. While it’s true President Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney are crisscrossing the Buckeye state so often, I expect their campaign buses to have an awkward fender bender any day...

James Taylor serenades N.C. Obama volunteers: Carolina is on everybody’s mind

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – With a Carolina cap on his head and an “Obama 2012” button on his shirt, James Taylor offered a mini-concert to a roomful of committed campaign volunteers on Thursday, thanking them for their get-out-the-vote efforts and urging them on. “I just believe in my heart that this...

‘Why didn’t he fight?’ Obama supporters want an answer, Mr. President

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For a grocery clerk at my local market, it was not about political strategies or poll numbers. As I judged the fish selection, he leaned across the counter and asked, “Why didn’t he fight?” I didn’t have to ask what he meant. He knows I cover politics,...

Could Michelle Obama get away with Ann Romney’s ‘fire’?

When does testiness cross over into anger? Whatever you want to call it, Ann Romney is showing the signs. When she takes her husband’s conservative critics to task on Radio Iowa with: “Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring.” When she leans into...

DNC Helped Recapture Charlotte’s Magic

Mayor Anthony Foxx is exhausted, but in a good way, just like his city. Though last week’s Democratic National Convention didn’t run exactly as planned — turns out neither party is great at forecasting the weather — the sudden storms that periodically pummeled Charlotte, N.C., didn’t dampen the spirit of...

At DNC Charlotte, taking the ‘war on women’ seriously

CHARLOTTE — The National Women’s Political Caucus is about issues, not party affiliation, as it tries to get more women elected to office. But the issues it cares about — supporting a women’s right to choose, the Equal Rights Amendment and dependent care for women balancing responsibility for children and...

DNC 2012 Notebook: Southern-fried pessimism intrudes on the party

Meet the new South, which has some of the same problems as the old South. It’s undeniable that a black mayor welcoming a black president into a city can tout skyscrapers, sports and a thriving arts scene. But despite those signs of growth, in the region that has gained political...

Obama’s speech adjusted for more constrained circumstances

Four years ago, it seemed as though the Obama campaign could control everything — even the weather. On that night of his acceptance speech in the stadium in Denver, the setting was ideal, dry and cool, with the backdrop of endless sky perfect for the thousands who roared at his...

More Obama derangement syndrome, this time in racist tweet from Puerto Rican political adviser

In the endless arguments over whether certain criticisms of President Obama are racist, there are cases when the answer is clear. In that category we can place angry, barely coherent tweets by a political adviser in Puerto Rico. After the president tweeted that first lady Michelle Obama’s birthday was coming...

First lady Michelle Obama previews her all-important speech

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michelle Obama is as comfortable talking about policy as the warm cuddly stuff, as she proved once again in a phone conversation with several women journalists Tuesday afternoon. Four years ago, her speech in Denver introduced her family to the nation and the nation liked what it...

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