The battle is on. A far more seasoned Barack Obama than the man America met just four years ago ended the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte with a spirited speech that fired up the faithful, even if weather forecasts had forced him to give up plans for a far-larger crowd at an outdoor stadium.

No matter. As fun and lucrative as it was to have a national party convention in our state, the last two hard-fought months of the battle between Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are on. Both Obama and Romney will no doubt campaign in our pivotal state again, as will their running mates. But they will have to divide visits here among other key strategic states, depending on their campaign chests and the latest polls.

The conventions are over. A finish is looming that will likely come down to the wire. And there is no way that the lines could be more sharply drawn.

The flag-waving conventions were worlds apart on what patriotism means and what the future course of our country should be. The GOP convention focused on individual initiative and conservative moral imperatives. The convention in Charlotte concentrated on shared initiative and progressive moral imperatives. …

The Obama who addressed the DNC was an admittedly more seasoned candidate, one more defined, as one commentator put it, by hope and faith than by hope and change. He didn’t give a mea culpa for failing to turn around the economy rapidly enough. He was short on specifics, just as Romney was in Tampa, about how the continued economic turnaround will be carried out. But he and other speakers did make an effective case that we’d be a lot worse off if Obama had not taken the steps he did to save the economy, including the successful bailout of General Motors. As Biden noted… GM is alive and Osama bin Laden is dead. …

But platforms, just as conventions, get blurred in the rear-view as candidates try to tack back to the middle and lure swing voters in the last days of a presidential race. And this race is now white-hot.

Online:

http://www2.journalnow.com

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Sept. 10

The Daily Reflector of Greenville on unemployment:

On the heels of a two-week stretch in which the major political parties sought to convince the American public that they were best suited to mend a tattered economy, the most recent job numbers released underscore the depths of the nation’s problems. Though unemployment declined, it was due more to a contraction of the workforce than new hiring, which was lower than the month before.

In North Carolina — a battleground state in which the White House may be won or lost — the pressing need for more jobs stands as the greatest issue facing residents, who continue to suffer with an unemployment rate far higher than the national average. It is clear that the status quo is unacceptable, and that those elected to serve must look beyond party toward the pressing needs of those still struggling in the aftermath of recession.

One day after President Barack Obama offered the soaring rhetoric of his nomination acceptance speech, his campaign came back to earth with the release of the unemployment figures for August. Though unemployment fell from 8.3 percent in July to 8.1 percent, the economy added only 96,000 new jobs, less than the 141,000 positions created in July. …

For Democrats, those numbers are a serious blow against the argument for re-electing Obama. The news is little better for Republicans, however, since voters know that a GOP-led House has frustrated the president’s efforts to spur job growth — and that their numbers from four years ago are worse. …

Yet, it is critical to remember, especially in light of the conventions and the campaign to come, that we are all in this together. As the unemployed suffer, so we all do. And getting those without jobs back to work will taking heavy lifting and sacrifice, not from one party, but from all.

Online:

http://www.reflector.com

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Sept. 8

The News & Observer of Raleigh on the state’s probation system:

No corruption, but a scandal all the same. That was the situation with North Carolina’s underfunded, obsolete and overwhelmed system for supervising people on probation — people in many cases poised on the ragged edge of becoming violent criminals.

It’s hardly a stretch to say that poor supervision of the two guys who ended up killing UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson contributed to her death. After that tragedy, The N&O highlighted massive deficiencies in the state’s oversight of people who — having already run afoul of the law — were put on probation as a way to help steer them straight while keeping them out of prison.

The General Assembly appeared to be paying attention. It approved during its past session a law meant to strengthen oversight of probationers while also relieving strain on the prison system. Closer supervision would help prevent the kind of probation slip-ups that land people back in the clink, and help keep minor criminals from becoming major.

It sounded great, except for one little detail. Legislators, scrambling to balance the budget, failed to put any money into the new program.

The Department of Public Safety wanted 172 more parole and probation officers, allowing it to cut average caseloads from about 80 ex-offenders per officer to about 60 and to carry out the new law. It got nothing additional.

David Guice, a former Republican House member from Brevard who now directs the Division of Community Corrections following a shake-up after the Carson murder, says he’ll press for needed funds in the next budget, and meanwhile add some probation officers by redefining duties. Fine. But why was his division left twisting in the wind? Public safety and an efficient correction system are more than worth the price.

Online:

http://www.newsobserver.com