Sorry no post yesterday--it's been a long few weeks, and I'm about pundit-ed out, so to speak.  Which is why I'm on vacation for a few days till session starts next Tuesday.

Here's to a few days of not following politicians around. :)

Meanwhile, in case you missed it, Frank Stasio and I had a little fun with the primary post-mortem on the State of Things on Wed.  My story on the governor's race winners is here.

Find the legacy

Governor Mike Easley's final budget comes out Monday. So what's he pushing in the last year of his term?  You'll probably find out in the Sunday papers, thanks to an advance briefing by budget chief Dan "Media-Friendly" Gerlach (who actually earns the sobriquet, by the way).

Back Monday night...

Comments? Drop me a line.

It's Perdue...who's speaking soon, I hope.

Latest margin is 55%-41% with 53% reporting.

So Obama's already giving his speech, which means my night just got shorter.  I'm watching it here at Perdue party HQ, where the audience is straining to hear and cheering here and there.

Perdue hasn't spoken yet - they haven't called her race.  But signs are coming in, and so are a whole lot more people, so I'm guessing it'll be soon.

Note in the men's bathroom at Perdue's Raleigh Hilton party:  "Thanks, Perdudes."  (No, I did not independently verify that.  But it's from a good source.)

Obama stops for a beer at the Raleigh Times. Maybe he was celebrating picking up another NC superdelegate, Jeannette Council.

That's 7 for Obama, 2 for Clinton. 

I’m sitting in a mostly empty ballroom at the North Raleigh Hilton, location of the Perdue festivities. Five guys are getting their bluegrass on up on stage.   They’re really good.

Folks are trickling in...the party starts at 7:30.  While we’re waiting...

Pundits ‘r us

As of this time tomorrow, NC will be a rapidly fading speck in the rearview mirror of the national media.  But for a while there, it was one heck of a  ride for the NC Press Corps.

I haven’t been able to keep up with everyone, but here’s some highlights:

• Dome’s Ryan Teague Beckwith rocked the new breakfast show on CSpan2.
• NBC17’s Kim Gennardo actually told Chris Matthews something he didn’t know.
• I did a bunch of public radio stuff – NPR shows, the BBC, etc.
• But the N&O’s Rob Christensen wins the pundit parade: he’s been on MSNBC (8 times), CNN, Jim Lehrer, CSPAN, NPR, and XM.  (Of course, he has a little more incentive – he’s flogging his new book.  The timing couldn’t be better.)

After Perdue speaks, I’m headed over to Obama’s shindig at NC State. Will update through the evening as making radio permits – stay tuned!

Comments? Drop me a line.

The latest from Obama-land on their Election Night rally at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum:

The event is free and open to the public.  However, tickets are required. 

A limited number of tickets are available.  Members of the public can RSVP at nc.barackobama.com to receive a free ticket via email.  Space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

***For security reasons, do not bring bags.  Please limit personal belongings.  No signs or banners allowed.***

(I told you they'd have to give away some of those tickets.  It's a 12,400 seat venue, for cryin' out loud.)

Party Time

Word’s out tonight that Barack and Michelle Obama will be holding their rally/victory celebration in Raleigh tomorrow night.

The event’s at NC State’s Reynolds Coliseum.  Note: It’s an invitation-only event, so don’t jump into your car and expect to get in. But with 12,000+ seats to work with, it seems likely someone’s going to release some tickets, somewhere.

No word yet from the Clinton camp, aside from one last GOTV swing by Bill tomorrow.  It’s a safe bet they’ll be partying where the polls tell them they’ll have something to celebrate – IN.

McCain was in the state today, but there’s no word of any partying whatsoever. 

Govs

Dem Bev Perdue’s party will be at the North Raleigh Hilton, starting when the polls close.   That one IS open to the public.

Dem Richard Moore isn’t throwing a party.  His deputy campaign manager Julie White advised last week that Moore would have a press availability 30 minutes after the race is called. Sounds festive.  Today’s polls can’t have made the Moore camp feel much better.  Survey USA has him down by 19, and PPP by 18. 

On the GOP side, it’s likely to be a tense night.  Those same polls show Pat McCrory (partying in Charlotte) is just a few points ahead of Fred Smith (throwing a barbecue - of course - near Raleigh), and no one’s breaking 40 yet.  

Yes, I know PPP’s Tom Jensen is pooh-poohing the idea of a runoff, but…what if Bill Graham’s late ad campaign picked up some undecideds?  That could make for an interesting next month or so.    Either way, this one’s the (state) race to watch.

Obama at Cree

Barack Obama showed up at Cree Semiconductor today for a “town hall meeting” with a polite crowd that barely outnumbered the press contingent. 

Obama took several questions on his energy and environmental policies, earned applause for yet another slam of Clinton’s proposed gas tax holiday, talked a little foreign policy, and made a last-minute pitch to a questioner who said she was still undecided.  That’s here.

Wall Street Journal blogger Nick Timiraos says it worked – the questioner, Cree attorney Diana Allen, said she’d “have to vote for him.”  

But two other Cree folks at the gathering weren’t persuaded.  Before the speech, Kathy Doverspike and Gary Barbari said they were undecided. When I checked in afterward, that hadn’t changed. 

(BTW, Doverspike says she IS voting Tuesday - for someone, anyway.)

Clinton in Greenville 

Over at Dome, Ryan Teague Beckwith has video of Clinton’s campaign stop in Greenville today, where she promoted her gas tax holiday proposal  with a little help from her friend, Gov Mike Easley, who apparently took a swipe or two at Obama, too.     I don’t have tape of Clinton, but Ryan has video of the whole thing here.

Comments? Drop me a line.

Char-O's Jefferson George reports the Observer is offering buyouts and axing most of its telemarketing department.  Romanesko has the internal memo posted over at Poynter.

Last week, the Raleigh N&O also announced buyouts. 

It's all about Tuesday

The Char-O endorses Obama. So does the Wilmington Star-News.

McClatchy's Barbara Barrett and Martha Quillan say race might (still) matter in NC.

W-SJ's Bertrand Gutierrez and Sean Mussenden look at what Obama and Clinton are doing to woo the other’s supporters.

Lines were long at one-stop sites around the state yesterday. Dome reports 8% of eligible voters have already cast ballots. And – loved this story - the N&O's Stanley Chambers talked to a woman who voted for the first time yesterday – on her 97th birthday.

But Greensboro’s Mark Binker says heavy presidential turnout may not amount to much help for the folks down-ticket. For those who DO want to fill in all the bubbles, Winston Salem’s Paul O’Connor offers a little homework help.

On the gov trail

• The AP’s Gary Robertson was digging Ham & Yams yesterday with GOP hopefuls Pat McCrory and Fred Smith.
• The N&O's Lynn Bonner checks out the gubernatorial candidates’ management credentials.
• Fay-O's editorial page editor Tim White says Moore’s ad campaigns have driven him into Perdue's camp.

In case you missed it…

Between the election and the fund drive, last week was pretty much nuts. Here’s the recap.

I talked to Obama Wednesday afternoon. Here’s the on-air version, and I posted the rough cut here.

Friday afternoon, I talked to Clinton. The edited version aired that afternoon; the rough cut is here.

In between, there were six gubernatorial profiles: McCrory, Graham, Moore, Smith, Perdue, Orr.

I talked to Liane Hansen for today's Weekend Edition Sunday. That interview's here. 

And I'll also be on the new public radio morning show "The Takeaway" early Monday morning.  Really early...as in 6am.  I have a lot of respect for anyone who’s coherent at that hour. I just hope I can fake it.

And last but certainly not least

A huge thank you to all of you who made our fund drive so successful. Because of your help, we met our 800K goal and exceeded it by another 50K. Thanks so much for keeping public radio going strong! 

Comments? Drop me a line.

Hello, HRC

Good news, part 2 - I've got ten minutes with Hillary Clinton tomorrow afternoon.  We're planning to get the interview onto the air tomorrow (Friday) afternoon during All Things Considered.

So, once again - what questions would YOU want to ask her?  Let me know.

Same ground rules as for Obama:

1. No political spammers need apply.  If I'm suspicious, I'll be googling you.

2. PG rated language, tops, please.

3. Since we apparently don't rate an actual debate, I'd appreciate any state-specific questions you have.

Thanks in advance for sending 'em in...

Obama tape - finally...

Sorry this took so long - I ran into some technical issues when I tried to post it earlier.  Anyway, here's my pretty much unedited interview with Obama yesterday.

The official edited version that ran this morning is available here.

"Guberama" update 

My six-part gubernatorial profile series finally (!) wraps up tomorrow with Dem Bev Perdue in the morning, and Republican Bob Orr in the afternoon.  I'll post links here once they've aired.  Meantime, Dem Richard Moore and GOP-ers Pat McCrory, Bill Graham, and Fred Smith are already posted for your listening pleasure. 

Dinner date

Clinton, Obama, Perdue, and Moore will headline a cast of thousands (well, dozens at least, probably)  on stage tomorrow night at the NC Dems' Jefferson-Jackson dinner.  They're holding it at Dorton Arena to accommodate the gigantic crowd that bought tickets.  I'm planning to go, pretty much just for fun, but I'll post here if any news is committed.

Comments? Drop me a line.