News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Columns by Rob Christensen (2006)

Rob Christensen

Rob Christensen has been writing about North Carolina politics as a reporter and a columnist for more than 30 years for The News and Observer. He can be reached at 829-4532 or robc@newsobserver.com



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After batting .750, a swing at '07

Robin, I did you wrong, big guy. I predicted a year ago in my annual fearless predictions column that Republican U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes from Concord would lose his re-election campaign.

Updated: Dec. 31, 2006 4:20 AM | Full story

Jones survives war stand

There were those who thought U.S. Rep. Walter Jones had committed political hara-kiri last year. Jones, a conservative Republican, was saying 18 months ago that the Bush administration should set a timetable to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Updated: Jan. 5, 2007 10:09 AM | Full story

Black's mistakes added up

Jim Black was the one indispensible man in the state House.

Updated: Dec. 17, 2006 2:15 AM | Full story

Books speak volumes

Rob Christensen:Call it book politics. No, this is not an article about the latest controversies over Salman Rushdie stirring up the Muslim world or whether the racist language in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" belongs on high school bookshelves.

Updated: Dec. 10, 2006 1:53 AM | Full story

Dismissal of Kissell backfires

Rob Christensen:Rahm Emanuel is one of the cool kids. Larry Kissell is not.

Updated: Dec. 3, 2006 1:53 AM | Full story

Women in politics toe a line

Rob Christensen:What do women want? Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, famously asked.

Updated: Nov. 26, 2006 2:14 AM | Full story

Spending turns red areas blue

Rob Christensen:Margaret Johnson was worried on election night that the walls would literally come tumbling down at the Democratic headquarters in the small North Carolina foothills town of Columbus.

Updated: Nov. 19, 2006 3:04 AM | Full story

Winners, losers and a sleeper

Rob Christensen:When the dust cleared from the midterm elections last week, North Carolina remained one of the most closely divided states in a closely divided country.

Updated: Nov. 12, 2006 2:14 AM | Full story

Six bits of wisdom from the ballot box

Rob Christensen:Here are six lessons from the '06 elections in North Carolina.

Updated: Nov. 8, 2006 4:15 AM | Full story

Profs drawn to spotlight

Rob Christensen:They are the media stars of academia. Call them Op-Ed-Pages-Are-Us. Or Dial-a-Quote. Or maybe instant expertise -- just add water.

Updated: Nov. 5, 2006 3:13 AM | Full story

Voters deserve a choice

Rob Christensen:They trotted out a couple of the ol' boys last week to talk about our rigged political system.

Updated: Oct. 29, 2006 2:12 AM | Full story

Farewell to a wag, an orator

Rob Christensen:"I could have been a great politician if only I had started right," Herbert Hyde once remarked. "Unfortunately, my mother taught me to tell the truth."

Updated: Oct. 22, 2006 6:20 AM | Full story

Susie, B.A., still can't read

Christensen:I was riding down an elevator with some 30-ish guy in Raleigh a few years ago when I was dumbstruck by a comment he made.

Updated: Oct. 15, 2006 5:26 AM | Full story

Trial shows capital's shady side

Christensen:Before his corruption trial, Kevin L. Geddings could have walked into Sullivan's Steak House or any political hangout in town and no one would have put down a bite of filet mignon to stare.

Updated: Oct. 13, 2006 6:07 AM | Full story

Our taxes not high or low

Rob Christensen:Mae West, Marilyn Monroe and Madonna never did much for me. But Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset and Angie Harmon? Oh, my.

Updated: Oct. 8, 2006 3:11 AM | Full story

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