Moore runs up his TV cable bill on ad buys

Richard Moore had a hefty cable bill last month.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate owed Time Warner Cable more than $25,000 for TV ads that aired in mid-January. During the same period, rival Beverly Perdue spent only about $4,000 on basic cable advertising, according to public records.

The candidates' advertising buys also included local TV stations, so their overall spending is different. No Republican candidate bought air time with Time Warner during that period.

Moore was unique in his broad use of basic cable. His ads aired on 14 channels, including CNN, MSNBC, The Food Network, The History Channel, USA and TNT.

Some of the buys -- such as on BET and Lifetime -- could be attempts to reach black voters and women, two groups in which he trails Perdue in the polls. He also aired 14 ads on Fox News, which attracts a more conservative audience.

By contrast, Perdue focused her attention on news channels, airing ads only on CNN and MSNBC.

There was one exception for Perdue: A single ad, which cost $1,764 on the USA channel, ran once between 6 and 8 p.m. Jan. 17. According to a schedule, back-to-back reruns of "Law & Order" aired during that time.

Perdue spokesman David Kochman said the campaign focused on news programming for cable ads because the audience was more likely to be politically active. He would not comment on the USA ad.

Lake gets Helms award

Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. has received the Jesse Helms Award for Courage from the Wake County Republican Party. Presenters noted Lake's decision to become a Republican, his unsuccessful run for governor and his work on the N.C. Actual Innocence Commission as examples of his courage.

Lake, who was spotted earlier sporting a sticker for gubernatorial candidate and former colleague Bob Orr, said the award "means more than I can possibly say."

He said that Helms is one of his three greatest heroes in politics, along with his father, I. Beverly Lake Sr., and Raleigh consultant Tom Ellis.

A quick read

What's on Fred Smith's nightstand?

In recent campaign speeches and events, the Republican gubernatorial candidate has cited a number of books from the worlds of business, sports and Christianity.

One was "The Call" by Os Guinness. Guinness is a best-selling author who writes about Christianity and public policy. First published in 1998, "The Call" focuses on self-fulfillment and how the purpose-driven life meets God's plan.

On the stump, Smith cites Guinness' distinction between "dreamers of the night" and "dreamers of the day." Those who wake up from their dreams find that "all is vanity," he says. "Dreamers of the day are dangerous people because they dream with their eyes open."

Another Smith favorite is "Michigan State Multiple Offense" by Clarence "Biggie" Munn, noted football coach at Michigan State from 1947 to 1953. Munn outlined his formula for winning and his coaching style in this book after he retired at the end of a 28-game winning streak. Smith cites an aphorism from the book regularly on the campaign trail: "The difference between good and great is a little extra effort."

Smith seems to like that theme, as he also mentions "Good to Great," by Jim Collins. In the book, a business professor and a team of researchers combed the results of more than 1,400 companies to find out how some of them made substantial improvement.

Smith says in his autobiography that Collins' writings "fit well with my own philosophy." He argues that organizations often avoid what it takes to be better: discipline, extra effort and intense commitment.

Cowell endorsed

The Conservation Council of North Carolina has endorsed Janet Cowell.

The nonprofit's political action committee endorsed the Raleigh Democrat's bid for the state treasurer nomination, citing her work on environmental issues as a state senator.

In 2005, the group recognized Cowell as the Senate "Environmental Champion" for her work on the Drinking Water Reservoir Protection Act, and in 2007 it gave her the Senator of the Year award for bills making government buildings more energy efficient and promoting recycling of electronics, as well as her role on the state's Global Warming Commission.