Otterblog

Some quick thoughts for a Thursday:

1) Words matter. The title for yesterday’s hearing on immigration was “Gangs, Fraud and Sexual Predators: Struggling with the Consequences of Illegal Immigration.” Not hard to figure out where this group of elected officials is coming from. Complex problem. And despite what people say, complex problems demand complex solutions.

2) Politics matter. It’s hard not to look at the picture of Erskine Bowles on our front page at his installation as president of the UNC system without thinking that for much of the last five years he spent a great deal of time wanting to do another job. i.e. be a U.S. Senator. My guess is that he will do better with the politics of the state education bureaucracy than he did with voters. It’s a different constituency, and one that plays to his strengths.

3) At the end of the day, it’s the votes that matter. Bowles and U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, who brought the immigration hearing to W-S, know that. So does Bucky Covington, who was voted off the American Idol island last night. Long hair and a nice smile can take you pretty far, but not to the finish line.