Today's showdown couldn't have happened without Gov. Jim Hunt.
In a column in the Charlotte Observer, editor Jack Betts points out that until 1977, the North Carolina governor was relatively weak — limited to a single term and the only one in the country without the veto power.
In his first term, Hunt persuaded the legislature to approve a constitutional amendment to allow governors to serve a second term, and voters approved it that fall.
After an eight-year Republican interregnum, Hunt returned to office for another two terms, persuading legislators and voters to approve a gubernatorial veto that time around.
Hunt never vetoed a bill, but he used it as a threat. His successor, two-term Gov. Mike Easley, has used it eight times, but he's never faced an override until today.
So, regardless of what happens, Hunt is behind it.
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