President Barack Obama was back in North Carolina. That, naturally, meant another shout-out to Reggie Love.

Love, the former Duke basketball and football player, is Obama's personal assistant - or body man. So whenever Obama is in North Carolina, he manages to mention Love.

"This is a community and a state that has been so good to me," Obama said at the town hall meeting at Broughton High School today. "And I know that part of the reason is that I travel with one of your home boys, Reggie Love."

"But I hope it's more than that," Obama said.

President Barack Obama is due to arrive at Raleigh-Durham International Airport soon, where he'll be greeted by Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker.

The media are gathered at the airport to watch Air Force One touch down, reports Kevin Kiley.

Then the presidential motorcade will make its way to Broughton High School. The route will take the president through downtown, possibly on McDowell Street, reports Bruce Siceloff on his blog, Crosstown Traffic. The police have bagged parking meters and blocked off downtown streets.

A long line ringed the block around Broughton High School Wednesday morning as hundreds of people streamed into the school's gym for the president's town hall.

Protestors and supporters of President Barack Obama's health care reform set up outside the event.

"ObamaCare wrong for NC," read one sign near Smallwood Drive. "Freedom isn't free. Neither is ObamaCare," read another.

On St. Mary's Street, supporters held up signs as well. "I can't afford MS," read one.

Many members of the state's Democratic establishment were in the crowd. Reps. Deborah Ross, Pricey Harrison and Verla Insko and Sen. Josh Stein were in the gym. State pary chairman David Young greeted VIPs near the stage which was set up with American flags as a backdrop.

The tickets for Wednesday's visit by President Barack Obama to Broughton High School are gone.

The White House web site is no longer accepting requests for the town hall discussion on health care. Obama's visit is part of his push for reforming the health care system. He heads to Bristol, Va., for a similar forum after the Raleigh event.

The major health care bills moving through Congress would require nearly all Americans to have health insurance. But as lawmakers struggle to achieve the goal of universal coverage, a critical question is whether the plans will be affordable to those who are currently uninsured.

All the bills offer some kind of assistance to lower-income people who do not get health benefits through the workplace. But lawmakers and consumer groups say insurance could still be out of reach for many families with modest incomes who receive small subsidies or none at all. (NYT)

Those questions and others are being debated across North Carolina through television commercials, rallies and a visit this week from President Barack Obama, who is appearing at a town hall meeting Wednesday in the Broughton High School gym.

Alhough the health-care debate is national, it is particularly loud in North Carolina because of the concentration of moderate Democrats that both sides see as potentially persuadable, particularly freshman Sen. Kay Hagan.

The Tar Heel State is also the home of some major players in the health-care industry, including GlaxoSmithKline, one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies.

Moreover, North Carolina is now seen as one of the nation's newest battleground states, having gone for Obama last November after voting Republican in the previous seven elections. (N&O)

Is President Barack Obama planning a town hall meeting on health care at Broughton High School next week?

That's the word, unconfirmed. Obama's schedules don't say and White House officials said only that he would be in Raleigh on Wednesday.

Dome's official device for separating truth from rumor, the Magic Eight Ball, hasn't had a workout in a while. So we put the question to our cheap plastic toy from China. Its answer: "Better not tell you now."

Well that settles it, then. 

Future state Sen. Fred Smith (No. 60) and Republican gubernatorial candidate poses with his Broughton High School football team in this photo from the 1960 Latipac yearbook.

Credit: J. Mac Boxley

Fred Smith took aim at John Edwards.

But was he really aiming at Bill Graham?

Some in the audience at Broughton High Wednesday night thought that the state senator's remark about "John Edwards wannabes" driving up medical costs with malpractice suits was a veiled shot.

If so, Graham's staff says it missed the mark.

The Salisbury attorney has represented asbestos victims, but only in worker's compensation cases and not against doctors, said spokesman Aaron Lay. He said the cases do not involve punitive damages.

"These are not the McDonald's $50 million hot coffee payouts," he said. "These are just to keep their families with a roof over their heads and food on their tables."

Graham has also proposed a peer review system to reduce lawsuits against doctors.

Bonus: Edwards' son, Wade, attended Broughton, as did Smith.

A barbecue for state Sen. Fred Smith's gubernatorial campaign at Broughton High School in Raleigh Wednesday.

About 250 people came to a free barbecue for Fred Smith.

The state senator, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, held his 31st barbecue meet-and-greet at Broughton High in Raleigh Wednesday night.

He plans at least one in each of North Carolina's 100 counties this fall. 

"Political wisdom is that you go to the high population counties and run TV ads," he told Dome. "I don't think that's right. Every county is important."

The Raleigh rally featured free food from Barbecue Lodge, opening and closing songs by his wife Ginny, an introduction by state Sen. Richard Stevens and a 20-minute video about Smith's life.

In his speech, Smith said he would limit state benefits to illegal immigrants, put constitutional amendments against gay marriage and eminent domain on the ballot, end the transfer of money from the Highway Trust Fund and enact a Jessica's Law to punish sex offenders.

Smith also asked for donations, but he told Dome that he is saving any money raised for print, radio and television ads later.