Who Says Substance Doesn't Count?

Throughout the campaign I've raised the question about how relevant our efforts to raise substantive questions and address policy issues really are in this election. Well today, I made Under the Dome for winning the gubernatorial candidates' NCAA bracket challenge. Coming in a distant second was the Lt. Governor who undoubtedly will claim in a press release that she actually won.

Unfortunately our most recent effort to raise the level of debate in the campaign and actually offer real thought provoking solutions hasn't received near as much notoriety as my prognosticating powers. About two weeks ago we released our Vision 20/20 economic development plan with a press conference attended by one member of the media. Press releases were sent out to editorial writers and reporters and the response was deafening silence.

Ok, so we only proposed spending $20 billion between now and the year 2020 on expanded loans to small businesses; angel fund investments to help spark entrepreneurs in developing fields (particularly needed in rural areas of NC); and major commitments of funding to our universities and community colleges for additional doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals. A modest proposal perhaps but when you consider that none of the other GOP candidates for governor have any kind of economic development plan then maybe this one deserves a little attention.

And the flip side of this proposal is that if we would invest the money being given away in targeted tax incentives, the state wouldn't even have to go looking for the money to fund the proposal. I can't figure whether the proposal is too complicated; too simple; too unrealistic; too obvious; or just too much trouble to have to do a story on it.

So next time someone complains about a lack of substance in political campaigns just explain to them about what's really important. We all know that a candidate's ability to navigate the treacherous waters of the NCAA basketball tournament is the real test of leadership skills and creative thinking. But alas, I did pick my beloved Heels to win it all.

"Sir, am I invisible?"

After a 1400 mile road trip west and two debates, I can now take a minute and try to catch up on my blogging responsibilities. Hopefully, the next 99 days of pre-primary posting will be even more "entertaining" as I have an expert in blogging who has volunteered to help bring me into the fast lane.

A number of years ago I was eating breakfast at a grill up on Hillsborough Street here in Raleigh, when a young man sat down at a booth close to my table. For the next 15 minutes, waitresses delivered coffee and food to other customers, took orders from those who hadn't been served, seated other customers - all the while ignoring this young man.

Finally, he turned to me and asked, "Sir, am I invisible?" I've laughed about that story for years, but at times in this campaign I want to ask, "Are my ideas and proposals invisible?" It's been almost a week now since I announced my education reform plan linked to making the political leadership at the top of the state public school system more accountable. And at times I ask myself how a proposal for significant educational reform can be all but ignored by the press, particularly by editorial boards at all the newspapers around the state?

Yes, I know NC Spin did a segment on it yesterday and that was great. And I know that there was coverage that went out after our press conference, but part of that story ended up being whether Pat McCrory had actually come up with the idea, not really about the substance or need for the reforms proposed. It's hard to understand why that was news (the N&O ran the story with a headline "Orr, McCrory propose appointing school head" and last time I checked Pat didn't attend my press conference or sign on to the reforms proposed). And I made it clear both at the press conference and in subsequent releases that I didn't claim any originality about not electing the superintendent, but that the rest of my proposals were original.

But what's frustrating is that no editorial writer for any of the papers in the state have even mentioned the proposal - for or against it - or simply said something to the effect the it's worth debating. And to the best of my knowledge, no reporter has actually asked Moore or Perdue where they stood on the issue, despite both of them sitting on the State Board of Education. The problems with our public schools certainly aren't invisible. When real solutions to those problems are proposed, they shouldn't be invisible either.

Also "Wannabe" Governor

Today's N&O once again ran a front page story featuring the two democratic candidates for governor. The headline told the thrust of the story: "2 Strong Democrats: Will they slug it out?" The inside page, continuing the story by Rob Christensen featured a comprehensive analysis of the democratic primary for governor with large photos of Perdue and Moore. This followed the most recent front page story of several months ago featuring the prodigious fundraising success of the two democrats.

Down at the bottom of the continuation page 10A, about half the size of an accompanying ad for Duke Medicine and a new member of a North Raleigh Internal medicine group, was a small box with the caption "THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES". There were three small pictures of us - mine was an old file photo back when I was on the Supreme Court, leaning back in my chair in front of the requisite law books.

The three sentence coverage began with the words: "Oh, yeah, there are three Republicans who also want to be governor." Next came the description of the three of us as being neither as well known nor as well-financed as the democrats. Finally, the reader was promised that, "They will get plenty of coverage in The News & Observer as the campaign unfolds." Hmmm, and I actually thought that the campaign had unfolded. I know if you asked any of us or our families or campaign staffs there wouldn't be any question that we have been relentlessly campaigning all over the state for months in my case and longer for Fred and Bill.

But my real question is not whether we'll "get plenty of coverage" but what kind of coverage we'll get from the media (print and electronic)? Will it be about substantive issues like education and corporate subsidies or on trivial issues that don't really address the problems facing our state? Will the coverage focus on our public records and the evaluation by a range of knowledgeable observers of how well we've done in the past or will it only be a fragmentary slice of our body of work (say, selected court opinions) that is most likely to stir up controversy? Will the press care to examine who we are in the context of our community involvement and service to others or merely ignore those elements of our record?

I have learned over my years as a public official and a candidate that while everyone likes to talk about the need for an informed electorate and the desire for candidates to be available and open to the press, it doesn't necessarily translate into thorough coverage of candidates and issues in a campaign. While no one likes negative or critical coverage we understand that it comes with the territory. But benign coverage by the press, the trivialization of a campaign effort, or the ignoring of positive information in contrast to the more titillating use of negative stories can be just as devastating to a campaign and to the public's ability to make informed choices on election day.

I've tried in the first eight months of this campaign to interest the press in what I'm doing and my position on the issues. My first formal press conference to address the Goodyear subsidy legislation drew a small group. WUNC-TV (no other television news reporters showed up), the NC News Network, the AP and the N&O's domed-blogger-in-residence all made the effort. My regular Tuesday morning breakfast with the press has drawn small responses with last Tuesday's only attendee being a photo/journalist for the Daily Tar Heel. At least the conversation with the DTH's representative was enjoyable as we talked about my race, UNC football, and her interest in law school. (Hopefully, the pictures she took don't show me with any egg on my face).

The point is that it's great that the N&O is promising lots of coverage of the Republican candidates for governor and without speaking for my fellow candidates in the primary all I can say is that we're waiting - on the N&O and all the other news outlets around the state, whether large urban papers, local small town papers, radio and TV. We may not be happy with everything ultimately reported but we'd all like our message, experience, and positions on significant issues presented to the public on the same basis as the democratic candidates.