Politics does make strange bedfellows.

• Author: Cline, Ned
• Position: Capital

The gubernatorial race is looking a little like the opening of a Dickens novel. It's either the best of times or the worst of times in North Carolina--depending on who's talking. Sure, it's standard political yin yang, but in this case not all the shills are on the same page.

Republican candidate Patrick Ballantine has traveled the state badmouthing incumbent Democrat Mike Easley for his bad management and the state's bad economy. No surprise there, but hang on.

His rhetoric sounds like that of Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards, who have lamented the state's poor economic times. The Oval Office hopefuls blame President Bush, and the state GOP, doing its part for the greater good, has risen in opposition. But in opposition to whom?

Even as Ballantine tells voters that Easley is responsible for North Carolina's economic woes, the state GOP is bragging about how great things are here, robbing Patrick to pay George. Its public-relations machine cranked out statistics showing that the state's business climate is warm and welcoming: Job growth is up five months in a row, income is climbing, North Carolina exports are rising and foreign-owned companies are hiring here rather than there. Its boasting may have unintended consequences, making the governor look like a champ deserving a second term.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Of course, it all depends on how you look at the numbers and how far the numbers can be stretched. Easley, no doubt grinning at the state GOP's ringing, if indirect, endorsement, hasn't trumpeted the praise. But he's clearly pleased that his opponents are touting figures showing that the economy is on course.

Ballantine says they're all wrong--to a degree. The North Carolina economy, he says, is neither as great as Easley and the state GOP say nor as bad as Kerry and Edwards claim. "I don't like to demagogue numbers," he says. Whatever the real state of business is here, Ballantine says he's the right choice because he's a fresh face who can jump-start the economy, cut taxes, inspire new ideas and create a clearer vision. That sounds good, even if he's long on cliches and short on specifics.

Easley and Ballantine, both from Eastern North Carolina, don't diverge on some economic issues. Richard Vinroot, one of Ballantine's primary opponents, seized on the similarities during his campaign, calling the Wilmington Republican "Easley Lite." But there are plenty of differences. They want to reduce the corporate and individual income-tax...