JLF head man John Hood gives his take on the Bar Association debates, focusing on the McCrory Perdue face-off:
Perdue still has important advantages. Having spent the better part of three decades in Raleigh, she has a grasp of policy detail and will rarely be stumped for an answer to any question about state government. And the ability to perform in public forums and debates isn’t as critical in modern campaigning as performing well in broadcast ads and raising money to finance them, like it or not.
Still, it shows how experience in one political arena doesn’t necessarily translate well to another political arena. Pat McCrory actually reminded me, stylistically, of Mike Easley, minus the Eastern NC drawl and programmatic rhyming. Beverly Perdue came across as a state legislator trying to establish her credibility as a candidate for higher office. Shouldn’t she have already done that eight years ago?
That seems to be the same problem Kay Hagan has in her contest with Eilzabeth Dole. Hagan falls back on her role as a key legislative budget writer, but in the meantime she’s just not coming up with any innovative ideas or solutions. She even used a variation of the Democratic catchphrase regarding offshore drilling, saying “we cannot drill ourselves enough oil to soilve this problem. We have got to be energy independent.”
I’m not here to defend Elizabeth Dole’s record in the Senate. I’m honestly trying to be open-minded about this contest. I’m also honestly waiting for some fresh ideas from Hagan.
