LEADERSHIP CULTIVATION

Nico Pitney and Sam Stein: Eagleburger Blisters Palin:

One more nail in the coffin. People, we need to pay attention!

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Obama holds lead: OH +4, NV +7, NC +6, PA +12, Women +12

With less than a week of campaigning left, Democrat Barack Obama is holding stable or growing leads over Republican John McCain in Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio, according to a new set of TIME/CNN...

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Obama's Daily Show Interview (VIDEO)

Barack Obama continued his media blitz tonight with an appearance on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

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Palin sees dip in popularity in Alaska, rest of nation

Gov. Sarah Palin electrified the conservative base of the Republican party when she was first picked as Sen. John McCain's vice-presidential running mate, but polls say she has become a polarizing figure since then in her home state.

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GOP Doubts Grow: Romney, Pawlenty Sound Skeptical

Doubts about John McCain's chances for the presidency grew louder among fellow Republicans on Tuesday as a White House race largely focused on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania entered its final week.


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Dozens Of Call Center Workers Walk Off Job In Protest Rather

At least three dozen workers at a telemarking call center in Indiana walked off the job rather than read an incendiary McCain campaign script attacking Barack Obama, according to two workers at the center and one of their parents. Nina...

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Bill Burton Isn't Taking Any Bull From Faux Noise Channel

Obama Spokesman Bill Burton Isn't Taking Any Bull From Faux News Channel. He smacks down Faux talking head Megyn Kelly.

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GOP Senator and Vietnam Veteran Endorses & Votes for Obama.

Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), who was the first Vietnam Vet to serve in the Senate, is the latest Republican to back Obama. Pressler, who said that in addition to voting for for Obama he'd donated $500, said "I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better." By contrast, John McCain "made me nervous."

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Obama Draws 100,000 At Denver Rally (PHOTOS)

Oh yeah, baby.

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A NC Wish for a Palin-Only Ticket and Signs of an Obama Victory

The North Carolina GOP is a disillusioned mess.  NC Republicans and some faux Democrats are surely depressed about the waning prospect that North Carolina will remain in the GOP column in 2008.  And disregard that Rasmussen Poll nonsense showing John McCain with a two-point lead.  North Carolina voters prefer Barack Obama and the telltale signs are still in place.  And the signs are growing.  In rush hour traffic on Friday, I was shocked to see that the McCain/Palin bumper sticker on the truck in front of me...was minus the McCain.  The driver showed outright contempt for McCain by displaying only "Palin".  A sign of the times?  Maybe. McCain may be wise to spend less time running negative Obama ads and spend more time reining in fellow Republicans who are starting to abandon his sinking ship.

Jesse Helms wouldn't recognize this North Carolina.  While McCain slept, Obama quietly surrounded the fort.  It's been a long time since any Democratic presidential candidate has enjoyed the kind of widespread support that Obama now has in North Carolina. But don't expect any Obama premature victory lap, the Obama Campaign is not taking North Carolina for granted.  With the Obama Campaign "fight until the last vote is counted strategy", I predict that Obama will win North Carolina in a manner reminiscent of the way that Usain Bolt won his Olympic medals.  And the Obama victory will have coattails. 

Kay Hagan is almost certain to unseat the North Carolina Senator from Kansas, Libby Dole, and Bev Perdue will win a closely contested governor's race and defeat Pat McCrory who is giving her a run for her money. Give McCrory, the Charlotte mayor, credit for being smart enough not to alienate Obama supporters with whom he hopes to garner some measure of favor.  All in all, it's been a great year to follow North Carolina politics.  And the person most responsible is Barack Obama.  It is satisfying to witness that most Americans including North Carolinians see the value in having a leader that possesses the ability to inspire its people to transform a nation.