Sunday, December 9, 2007
Would-be governors read political climate
By Paul O'Connor
JOURNAL COLUMNIST

RALEIGH, NC - In a move that says a lot about how they see North Carolina’s political climate, the five major candidates for governor have all criticized the community-college policy of enrolling immigrant students who are not in the United States legally.

It was the safe move to make for all five, based on illegal-immigrant sentiment in the state. It was much safer than that taken in favor of the policy by Gov. Mike Easley - at least considering the tone of the angry phone calls his office received after he spoke out.

Let’s look at the five and see what this position tells us about how they perceive the North Carolina electorate in late fall 2007.

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