In order to make this a more politically themed website and expand on our news offerings, Baker Newswire will be undergoing maintenance for the next few weeks.  Please be patient – we know you’ll like what you see!

Happy New Year,

Aaron Baker
Editor-in-Chief, Baker Newswire

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

‘Welcome to heaven,’ says St. Peter. ‘Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.’

‘ No problem, just let me in,’ says the man.

‘Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.’

‘Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,’ says the senator.

‘I’m sorry, but we have our rules.’

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises…

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

‘Now it’s time to visit heaven.’

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

‘Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.’

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: ‘Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.’

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ‘I don’t understand,’ stammers the senator. ‘Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubh ouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?’

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ‘Yesterday we were campaigning…    Today you voted.’

- Author Unknown

Total Number of Precincts Reporting: 83%

Bev Perdue: 50%  |  Pat McCrory 47%

This is Baker Newswire’s official coverage of the 2008 North Carolina Governor’s Race.  The map above will be updated on a minute-by-minute basis based on various projections from different news networks, as well as polling data.

10:32 PM – Bev Perdue has won the race for NC Governor; Robin Hayes loses to Larry Kissell.

9:57 PM – Virginia Foxx has won reelection.

9:56 PM – Perdue 50%, McCrory 47%.  The race is tightening!

9:37 PM – The Governor’s race is tight, and Mecklenburg has only reported 5% of the votes.

8:51 PM – The race between McCrory and Perdue remains close, as Mecklenburg County is only reporting 1% of the total votes at the moment.  Things aren’t looking so well for Dole at this time.

7:45 PM – Obama, Perdue, and Dole are slightly ahead at this time.

7:35 PM – Dare County is the only county reporting numbers at this time.

Updated 9:38 PM

Barack Obama  |  333 Electoral Votes
(270 Needed To Win)

John McCain  |  155 Electoral Votes
(270 Needed To Win)

11:00 PM – BARACK OBAMA WILL BECOME THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

9:20 PM – Ohio goes to Obama.

8:45 PM – Pennsylvania goes to Obama.

8:06 PM – McCain wins Oklahoma and Tennessee; Obama wins Illinois, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.

7:42 PM – Baker Newswire is not yet ready to project a winner in the other states at this time.

7:30 PM – North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia are all too close to call – we will let you know about the local races as soon as we analyze data.

7:20 PM – Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and Virginia, which all closed at 7 PM, are still too close to call.

7:13 PM – North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia close in about 15 minutes.

7:05 PM – Kentucky goes to McCain, and Vermont goes to Obama!  The night is young!

Updated at 7:43 PM

The Obama campaign asked CNN to air its 30-minute campaign ad, scheduled for Wednesday evening, but the network turned them down.

“CNN was approached by the Obama campaign and declined their request,” the network said in a Tuesday statement. “We did not want to pre-empt our programming lineup with a 30-minute campaign commercial. We prefer to use our air to continue to cover the campaign, candidates and issues like we always do from all points of view with the best political team on television.”

The half hour infomercial will be airing on CBS, NBC, FOX television, MSNBC, Univision, BET and TV One.  Maybe it’s just me, but I applaud CNN for not airing the content, as I feel that a news organization’s responsibility is to be as unbiased as possible (granted, I believe there will always be political ‘tones’ with each network).

Make sure to point your browser to us on Tuesday, November 4th, as we will be covering Election 2008 minute by minute.  Not only will we be covering Carolina politics and the presidential race, we will also be covering various races across the nation!

From left to right: Pat McCrory (R), Michael Munger (L), Bev Perdue (D)

Those that know me well know that the 2008 North Carolina Governor’s race is a hot button issue for me.  Here is an article I read, and here is my (rather scathing) response, primarily directed at the user comments:

First of all, Charlotte isn’t Western NC, it’s located in the Piedmont area of the state.

Second of all, are you serious?! Bev Perdue is nothing more than the failure that is/was the Mike Easley legacy, and on top of it, she’s arrogant.  If you want a governor who pretends that anything West of Greensboro is Eastern TN, by all means, vote for Bev.

I’ve never understood this resentment of Charlotte by other parts of the state. Not only is Charlotte (by a wide margin) the largest city in the state, we bring in the majority of revenue for this state. This state would be nothing without Charlotte and the metro area surrounding it.

This has nothing to do with partisan thoughts – I am an Obama and Kay Hagan supporter – however if Bev Perdue is elected Governor, I will do my best to relocate out of the state with my job, as she will do NOTHING other than spin this state in a negative direction.

I welcome any comments!

Bobby Medford, leaving the Buncombe County federal courthouse

Once a very prominent individual in Buncombe County law enforcement, former Sheriff Bobby Medford reported to the federal courthouse at about 12:45 PM to begin his 15-year prison sentence for, among other things, taking more than $300,000 in bribes from illegal gambling operators during his dozen years in the position.  At this moment, it is unclear where he will serve his time in prison.

It’s refreshing to see that even law enforcement figures receive proper justice for crimes that they commit.

Read more