No one outside the far left end of the political spectrum believes that John Hood holds some unwarranted sway over the editors at the News & Observer. But those who do believe it found more evidence to support their delusions this week. The state capital’s major paper cited Hood three times in the past week. Editor John Drescher mentioned Hood while discussing the debate over illegal immigration. Columnist Jack Betts cited Hood’s analysis of the so-called “Charlotte curse” in the governor’s race. The newspaper’s “Triangle Politics” column named Hood as a speaker at an upcoming Wake Up Wake County event. (If domination of the News & Observer is not enough for Hood, he can always try the Winston-Salem Journal, which noted this week Hood’s skepticism that new government regulations deserve the lion’s share of credit for reducing North Carolina’s child mortality.)