The City Council tried to answer that question Tuesday during a discussion about a proposed city of Raleigh mission statement put forward by Councilman Thomas Crowder. Raleigh, as you might have guessed, does not now have a mission statement. Several council members said they learned of this travesty after attending a governing workshop at UNC-Chapel Hill where elected leaders were encouraged to adopt policies that aligned with their municipality's mission.

Crowder said it was "imperative" to correct the oversight.

After looking over Crowder's proposal, Councilman James West said he liked what was in it, except one thing. "The problem I have is this is not a mission statement; this is a vision statement."

Further confusing matters was the fact that the next item on the council's agenda was a proposed vision statement articulating where the city should be in 2030. Things got blurry rather quickly, with everyone chiming in about how best to distinguish a vision statement from a mission statement.

With things going nowhere fast, it was up to Councilman Rodger Koopman to save the day.

"As fascinating as I find this discussion, I think I'm going to put it in committee," Koopman said.

OBAMA WINS SUPPORT: Sen. Barack Obama picked up another endorsement in the Triangle this week, this one from the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association's political action committee.

The association dates to 1932 and continues to represent minority rights in Wake County. The group also endorses U.S. Rep. Brad Miller for another term in Congress, Vernon Malone for another term in state Senate District 14, Josh Stein in state Senate District 16 and Sam Brewer in state House District 40 -- all Democrats.

But the association also gives its backing to a few Republicans. In the governor's race, it tips its hat to both Democrat Bev Perdue and Republican Bob Orr. In the U.S. Senate race, it back both Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican Elizabeth Dole.

POLITICAL TRAIL

* REPUBLICANS: The Capital Area Republican Club will meet at Casa Carbone Restaurant, 6019 Glenwood Ave., in Raleigh on Tuesday. The social hour is at 5:30 p.m. The speaker will be gubernatorial candidate Bob Orr, at 6 p.m. Dinner will follow. For information and reservations, contact Dot Schafer at 847-0338.

* FORUM: The African-American Caucus of the Wake County Democratic Party will host a Democratic candidates forum April 28, at Wake County Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive, in Raleigh.

From 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., there will be a meet-and-greet period. The forum will be 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Democratic candidates running for federal, state and local offices will participate.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Kristi Bellamy, vice president of the African-American Caucus, at kristibellamy@hotmail.com or 827-3723.