With North Carolina experiencing a hot governor’s race, the N.C. Museum of History is beginning an exhibit looking at nearly 300 years of Tar Heel governors.

The exhibit, which starts Oct. 25, includes artifacts, photographs and portraits of past governors, Rob Christensen reports.

Among the events surrounding the exhibit will a panel discussion with three former North Carolina governors — Jim Holshouser, Jim Martin and Jim Hunt. Former Gov. Bob Scott, who has been struggling with health issues,  does not plan to attend.

The panel discussion will be held Oct. 24th and be moderated by Bill Friday, the former president of the University of North Carolina system.

Today — Oct. 16 — is the last day to register for the evening. But the event will later be rebroadcast on UNC-TV. For more informaiton call 919-807-7900.

Mike Munger will get half of the spotlight again Wednesday night.

The Libertarian gubernatorial candidate and Republican Pat McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte and Republican nominee, will debate on WUNC TV. Democrat Beverly Perdue declined to join the debate, the second live forum televised statewide. Perdue skipped the first one as well.

Perdue's campaign emphasizes that they agreed to five other televised debates, four of which have already been held. Those match-ups were in individual television markets, such as the Raleigh area, but were sometimes broadcast at later times by stations in some of the other markets.

Perdue participated in the UNC-TV debates held during the Democratic primary.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and Beverly Perdue have become gun shy about debating.

The lack of face-to-face debates is particularly noticeable in the Senate race, where Dole has declined to commit to five televised debates. In the governor's race, Perdue has declined two statewide televised debates hosted by UNC-TV, including one tonight.

So with the election in its final month, many North Carolinians will have little or no opportunity to see the candidates answer questions.

The only televised debate in the U.S. Senate race was on June 21 at the N.C. State Bar Association convention in Atlantic Beach. Since then, several televised debates have been proposed by the likes of UNC-TV, the N.C. Association of Broadcasters and various local TV stations.

Officials with Kay Hagan's campaign said they agreed to those debates, but event organizers said Dole never committed as scheduling deadlines passed. A spokesman for Dole said that organizers never confirmed that Hagan had agreed. (N&O)

The Republican Governors Association has apparently turned on one of its own.

In a new ad, the group calls Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue manipulative, using footage of her in a UNC-TV interview from 2000.

"I do really admire someone who can be charming and manipulative at the same time," she says in the ad.

According to an Aug. 4, 2002, story in the Charlotte Observer, Perdue went on to say "...if they can be on the right side of public policy issues."

So who was Perdue talking about? Former president Ronald Reagan.

You know, the former Republican governor who chaired the Republican Governors Association from 1968 to 1969.

For the fifth time this year, two of the three gubernatorial candidates met for a debate.

This time, it was a different two.

Republican Pat McCrory and Libertarian Mike Munger debated the economy, health care and education in an hour-long event hosted by UNC-TV, agreeing more than they disagreed.

Democrat Beverly Perdue skipped the debate.

Though they agreed more than they disagreed during the debate, McCrory and Munger differed on offshore drilling and the death penalty.

McCrory argued drilling would lower gas prices eventually, while Munger said it was a gimmick but worth doing anyway. McCrory said he would move to reinstate the death penalty, while Munger said he would commute all death sentences.

All three candidates will meet at a debate in Charlotte next month. (N&O) 

Mike Munger got a rare statewide platform tonight.

The Libertarian gubernatorial candidate made good use of his appearance at a debate on UNC-TV to get off a few zingers. (Mingers?)

On mental health reform: "There was an overhaul in 2001. To me, it looked more like a frat party."

On corporate incentives: "This focus on trying to pay companies to come here is basically economic prostitution that's not going to last in the long run."

On the veto: "I think of the veto like spanking your child. It means that you're a bad parent, that you haven't successfully used all of the things that should come before that. Now maybe it sometimes still happens, but it really means it's a failure for you, and it's a failure for the child."

On voting for third-party candidates: "Unless you have Jedi powers, you're not going to be able to control the way other people vote. You have one precious vote. Your decision on how to cast it will send a signal to our leaders in Raleigh."

How did Mike Munger get invited to a UNC-TV debate tonight?

The Libertarian candidate for governor has been excluded from three other debates so far this year, but the public television network said he met their criteria.

The rule? He had to hit five percent in a "credible" public opinion poll.

Munger polled five percent in a poll by Survey USA in August. He's hit five percent or more in surveys by Public Policy Polling, though they are not usually considered by UNC-TV.

Is Beverly Perdue a bad debater?

Democratic consultant Gary Pearce said allowing her to debate five times was "political malfeasance." Charlotte Observer columnist Jack Betts said Republican Pat McCrory is "more polished." WUNC reporter Laura Leslie said debates "aren't Perdue's strongest suit."

Dome's take: The format makes the difference.

McCrory has clearly outshined Perdue in sit-down debates that allowed more back-and-forth between the candidates, such as the recent debates on WRAL and WTVD.

But the two are more evenly matched in formal settings with podiums and timers, such as the recent debate at the SAS Institute. Perdue excelled in that type of setting during her primary debates against Richard Moore.

Their backgrounds may help explain that. As Betts noted, Perdue has presided over the Senate for eight years. It's a place where formality reigns. Parliamentary rules determine the course of the debate and legislators take turns giving short speeches.

City council meetings are much more informal. Mayors and council members typically sit, discussion is more freewheeling and thinking on your feet is a virtue. Typically, only the city attorney keeps careful track of Robert's Rules of Orders.

In addition, state legislators rarely debate during their campaigns, while McCrory has faced a number of televised debates in his biennial campaigns for mayor.

In short, the more the debate is like the Senate, the better Perdue does. But when it's more like a City Council meeting, McCrory tends to win the day.

If we're right, then Perdue's decision to skip the UNC-TV debate tonight — a formal debate that will be aired statewide — was a strategic mistake.

Jack Betts says Beverly Perdue may be right to skip some debates.

In a post on This Old State, the longtime Charlotte Observer columnist writes that he used to think the Democratic gubernatorial candidate should debate more, though there's still a risk to skipping them.

It may confirm in some folks' mind that her advisers don't want her to participate in too many debates because it doesn't play to her strengths. I used to think her advisers were wrong, that after presiding over the Senate for nearly eight years and having to deal with such challenges as former Sen. Hugh Webster or Democratic leader Sen. Tony Rand, she wouldn't have any trouble with her opponents. But McCrory's the more polished campaigner in such head-to-head confrontations, though Perdue has improved some.

McCrory and Libertarian Mike Munger will appear at a debate on UNC-TV Wednesday.

Beverly Perdue will skip a debate on UNC-TV Wednesday.

The public television channel had invited the Democratic gubernatorial candidate as well as Republican Pat McCrory and Libertarian Mike Munger. Perdue declined.

Perdue and McCrory have already debated four times and will meet for one more sponsored by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg League of Women Voters on Oct. 15.

Munger is also invited to that event, but he has not been asked to previous debates. 

McCrory and Munger will appear, however. The moderator will be Eszter Vajda, co-host of UNC-TV's Legislative Week in Review.

The debate will be broadcast live on UNC-TV at 8 p.m.