Gov. Beverly Perdue borrowed a page from President Obama tonight.

In her first State of the State speech before the legislature, the Democratic governor noted the "tough times" in the economy and called for an end to political bickering.

"Starting today, it is no longer business as usual for North Carolina's budget," she said. "I want all of our citizens to know that it's a new day in North Carolina. Everything is on the table. We do not have time for talk-show political posturing or petty partisan games."

Though the state capital has a handful of political talk shows — N.C. Spin, News 14 Carolina's "Political Connections" and some episodes of "Headline Saturday" — it is hardly overrun by the pundits that rule Washington, D.C.

(Kim Genardo's "At Issue" show was canceled last month.)

But President Obama has gotten a lot of mileage in recent weeks out of criticizing radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh.

There are a number of radio shows around the state with similar styles to Limbaugh, such as those on WPTF AM radio in the Triangle. But they don't have a statewide reach.

Richard Moore wants three more debates before Election Day.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate and his rival, Beverly Perdue, have faced off in a debate before the N.C. School Boards Association and twice on UNC-TV.

But he says that the UNC-TV forums are not "real debates" because they don't include rebuttals.

"It's not a real debate if there is no give and take between the candidates," he said in a statement. "We are running to be the CEO of the tenth largest state and manage a $20 billion budget. Voters deserve to hear directly from the candidates in a format that forces them to go beyond scripted talking points."

According to the Moore campaign, Perdue has turned down debates on North Carolina News 14, WRAL and WTVD in Raleigh, WITN in Greenville and WWAY in Wilmington.

The only scheduled debate is a third UNC-TV forum on education on April 24.