Random Observations on the Campaign

Well, it's time for some random musings from the campaign trail. Last Friday saw the Orr campaign have its first brush with Broadway as Lauren Kennedy sang at a fundraiser for us at the Kennedy Theater. Currently starring in "Annie Get Your Gun" here in Raleigh and grabbing rave reviews, Lauren made it a fun evening and a nice hit for the home team. Lauren's dad, K.D. Kennedy has been a major fundraiser for Republican candidates over the years and it's a major coup to get him actively involved in our campaign. And, hey, not only is Lauren more talented than Lee Greenwood, she just a really charming young woman and a pleasure to know.

The past week was the proverbial "road trip" taking in Lincoln/Reagan Day Dinners, talking with the press, and gathering information to better allow us to talk about the issues facing the state and how we can address them. From Asheville to Greenville the week's travel caused me to once again realize that despite the challenges North Carolina faces, there are amazing things going on all across the state. I'll be talking more about these experiences but the positive opportunities for our state to accomplish great things in the years ahead is out there. All that's required is open, honest government and leadership that will make the tough decisions.

The week also saw the "Catwoman" quote generate the most publicity for the campaign (Is there something wrong with this picture?) and Tim Boyum of News 14 eloquently responded to my prior posting about the lack of hard questioning in the campaign. Thanks, Tim, for reading, responding and caring about the issue. I appreciate your candidness. And the Dome Gnome, RTB, points out that none of the polls being run actually poll likely primary voters nor release the sample or weighting given. Yeh, I know that our numbers are low, but with 60% undecided I still believe that the race is very winnable. Finally, the tax value of our house in Raleigh makes Under the Dome. It's a nice house with a nice mortgage on it, too.

Finally, I'd like the Mayor to explain why he failed to clear his schedule to talk with the mental health alliance forum as ALL the other candidates did. There's no excuse for avoiding an important opportunity to give his views on the challenging problem of reforming mental health "reform". There are no simple answers and frankly, I struggled with the complexities of the issue, but at least Bill, Fred and I made the effort. Frankly, Pat needs to get away from the fluff and one-liners that mark his campaign. And he needs to show up.

The Down and Dirty

The problem with going out of town for Thanksgiving is that when you get back there is so much to catch up on that the need to keep the blog current gets pushed to the back burner. So here's a quick look at the topics I promise to sit down and comment on this weekend: Christmas comes early for Bruton Smith; two legislators from NC go national with the case against incentives and only the Asheville Citizen notices; a huge fuss erupts over illegal immigrants being admitted to our community college system but most everyone misses the essential question; Mayor Pat flirts with the governor's race but flies off to Paris, France and Fred heads to an exclusive resort in southern California to hobnob with the Governator and others. Orr stays home to work on issues with the staff. And the Civitas poll shows that for all the money Bill and Fred have spent, they're just about where they were months ago while the financially challenged Orr campaign hangs in there with them. Coming soon to a blog near you - more from Orr.

Foreign Money Surfaces in Campaign

Gotcha! In a true testament to the power of the internet, I'm breaking the news that the first "foreign" money has surfaced in the Orr campaign. That's right. Showing the power of internet fundraising I received today a contribution from Shanghai, China! Ok, so the donor is my nephew Andy from St. Louis, Missouri but Andy's working for an American company in China. Last night at dinner his Mom got a call from Andy and the whole family got a chance to catch up. And in the marvels of modern communications he sounded like he was just down the street.

We talked about life in China; his half marathon race ON the Great Wall of China; and my campaign. So it was with some surprise when Jan called from the campaign office today to report the contribution - made at 2:15 am EST. I'm not sure what time that plays out to be in China. Nevertheless, it was pretty neat and a much appreciated gesture from a great young man. We'll miss him this year at Thanksgiving but he said a friend in Shanghai owns a Texas BBQ restaurant and the US contingency was gathering there for the holidays. Lots to be thankful for and a real appreciation about how great the old U.S. of A. really is.

Ramblings from the Show Me State

An early happy Thanksgiving to my dedicated blog readers. I'm here in St. Louis for the family's annual trip to visit the in-laws and I'm blogging away at Starbucks. The political news generally back home seems quiet as folks prepare to settle in for the long holiday weekend so these comments reflect a random sampling of observations.

Here in Missouri the GOP Governor Blunt is trailing in the polls to the democratic AG named Nixon. The headlines point out that Blunt has bungled the Medicaid reduction issue and his legislation to replace it with some type of health coverage has not been well received. It's a long way to go until November of '08 but it looks like a struggle in the "Show Me" state.

Please don't think this is pandering to the N&O but the St. Louis Post Dispatch is a really mediocre paper compared to the N&O. Despite "occasional" disagreements with editorial and news coverage decisions by our local paper, you do get a real appreciation for the N&O 's overall quality compared to other large city papers. It might have something to do, however, with the lack of UNC coverage here.

Our campaign is really picking up speed thanks in large part to the willingness of Dave Woolf to come on board as campaign manager. There's nothing quite like a former infantry officer to shape things up and keep the troops marching. As long as his airborne roots don't start requiring me to jump out of airplanes, I'll be ok. Jumping in to the governor's race was a big enough challenge.

So with those random thoughts I'll probably not post again until returning to the Tar Heel state on Friday in anticipation of the Carolina - Duke football game on Saturday. Ok, I know that there aren't many folks left this season who really care about the game but I do. And it sure beats getting fired up over the Missouri - Kansas game even though it is a big one. Eat well, rest up, help someone in need and remember to count your blessings.

Ken Burn's Documentary on WW II

My wife and I have been transfixed over the past several nights watching Ken Burn's series about World War II being shown this week on WUNC. I know that I should have spent these hours working on the campaign but for those of my generation the stories being told are too compelling to ignore. And yet I get a sense from the younger generation and that includes my own children, that WW II is just ancient history and the temptation to spend the evening watching baseball or movies or sitcoms is much more appealing. My question is: who is watching? I haven't talked with anyone this week who's tuned in and frankly, that's simply unacceptable.

As the first of the baby boomers I grew up only a few years removed from WW II. My Dad enlisted at the age of 36 and spent his two years training troops at Ft. Bragg. Mom refusing to be left home alone, joined the Red Cross and spent two years at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana and Camp Butner near Durham working with soldiers both returning from combat and those headed to the war. My Mom's brother hit the beaches in North Africa and then on to Italy. He was a tough character, chain smoking, whiskey drinking, a swaggering figure as I knew him growing up. My Mom's scrapbook contains letters from "somewhere in Italy" or letters from a friend in the Pacific fighting the Japanese and other memories from that period. My wife's Dad spent six years training artillery troops and was waiting to be part of the invasion of Japan. His brother Sam, a pilot, was killed in a training accident.

The heroes of my home town were the men and women of WWII. The movies I watched, the early TV shows of the 1950's, the stories I heard around the kitchen table or a camp fire on weekend picnics reinforced the magnitude of their accomplishments and the sacrifices they made. Perhaps this was brought home most poignantly to me shortly after the Army sent me to Germany in 1969. It was a far different environment from my impressions of wartime Europe and I found it hard to reconcile the friendly atmosphere with my images of the war. That changed a few weeks later as I sat quietly at the American Military Cemetery in Margraaten, Holland. In front of me stood row upon row of white crosses and stars of David marking the burial site of thousands of young Americans who had left home to fight for their country and gave their lives in defense of our freedoms. Hundreds of Dutch citizens came that Memorial Day to place flowers on the graves of each soldier. "Why do you come?" I asked a grizzled old fellow. "I come because these soldiers freed my country." he quietly answered.

And that's why everyone ought to be watching tonight and saying a quiet prayer in gratitude for Babe, and Walter Ehlers and all those who gave their lives for the freedom and prosperity we enjoy today.