Two liberal bloggers came the closest to predicting North Carolina's presidential race.

Nate Silver, a statistics nut who runs the Web site FiveThirtyEight.com, and Kirk Ross, who writes the Exile on Jones Street blog about the legislature, both predicted Barack Obama would win the state. Silver said by 0.6 percentage points; Ross by 0.5 to 1.5 points.

The actual margin, according to uncertified results from the State Board of Elections, was 0.3 points.

The two were among 16 bloggers, pundits, professors and consultants who predicted an Obama win in the Tar Heel state, according to an informal tally by Dome the week before the election.

Because of the narrow margin, the 13 who predicted a McCain win (including the Eight Ball) shouldn't be too ashamed, except maybe the four conservatives who predicted a win by three or more points — Sen. Richard Burr, Red State editor Erick Erickson, blogger Ed Morrissey and editor Fred Barnes.

And no points go to the five mainstream sources who refused to make a prediction (Rothenberg Political Report, Congressional Quarterly, Cook Political Report, New York Times and MSNBC.)

Kirk Ross predicts a tidal wave.

The liberal blogger writes Dome that he thinks a wave of Democratic voters will push Barack Obama over the top in North Carolina, carrying Kay Hagan and Beverly Perdue along with him.

"It's tempting to say McCrory has a chance, but there's not enough focus on the race to convince enough people to distinguish him from any other Republican. Presidential politics has sucked all the oxygen outta the downballot," he writes.

He also pegs Obama's numbers at between a half-point to a point and a half. 

Kirk Ross says John Edwards has worked hard for an Iowa win.

In a post on Exile on Jones Street, he writes that Edwards has spent a lot of time in the state over the past few years, and that will count for something with voters.

The Midwest is much more about "do" than "say" and folks a lot more interested in who you are than who you say you are. Perseverance, determination and taking time to learn the issues are greatly respected among Iowa voters. And they've learned a bit over the years about looking beyond the chatter and to the person.

Rumors continue to circulate about U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The anonymous snarks at The Raleigh Soup claim that state Sen. Kay Hagan and state Rep. Grier Martin both want to take on Dole but are looking to avoid a Democratic primary.

On BlueNC, the never-shy Anglico jumps ahead of the pack to declare he's all for Martin.

And Kirk Ross drops an insider-ish hint in a column for the Carrboro Citizen that "at least one other major name" is considering running for the Democratic nomination.

And he's not talking about Howard Lee.

Meantime, Greensboro blogger Ed Cone weighs in with his usual pithiness:

"Hagan and Martin, Hagan or Martin, somebody wake me up if anything actually happens, OK?"

Bloggers make for strange bedfellows on the Goodyear incentives.

On the conservative Red Clay Citizen, blogger Civitas writes that incentives distort the free market and create "zombie companies" that aren't nimble.

While some people in Fayetteville may lose their jobs, we cannot continue under the illusion that the government can keep companies from downsizing, adapting and changing.

Meantime, the Progressive Pulse beats strongly against incentives as well, with blogger Rob Schofield writing that the $40 million subsidy is "chump change" to Goodyear.

If lawmakers go along with the plan, they will reveal themselves to be just the latest in a long line of well-intended suckers to fall for the hardball tactics of a ravenous and amoral corporation that's pushing a lot of hot air.

More after the jump.

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