The Republican gubernatorial candidate's campaign has been showing off the results of a poll by noted Democratic consultant James Carville's Democracy Corps.

The poll of 852 likely voters conducted Aug. 20-26 showed McCrory with a 55 percent favorable rating and Democratic rival Beverly Perdue with 49 percent.

It also showed the candidates essentially tied in the race for governor.

The survey was done by Greenberg, Quinlin and Rosner Research. Democracy Corps sent out a news release noting results in the presidential and Senate races, but it did not mention the gubernatorial results.

McCrory campaign manager Richard Hudson said that voters are tired of the status quo.

"That benefits us. If you look up a picture of status quo in the dictionary, there is a picture of Beverly Perdue," he said.

A Perdue spokesman said polls will fluctuate before Election Day.

Covering its bases

At first glance at a news release last week from the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission, it wasn't clear whether a former Plymouth police officer's conviction would stand.

The headline, in bold, read: "Man Declared Innocent Seven Years after Conviction (or Man's Conviction upheld in Innocence Hearing)."

Chalk it up to the commission being overly prepared.

Grace Wallace, the commission's office manager, said a staffer had prepared a draft with both potential outcomes, planning to edit it to reflect what happened once the three-judge panel ruled.

That way, the commission would get the news out sooner. But the staffer forgot to edit the headline.

The body of the news release reported the outcome. The panel upheld Henry Archie Reeves III's seven-year-old conviction on taking indecent liberties with a child.

Controversial dinner

The N.C. Democratic Party will hold its annual Vance-Aycock Dinner on Oct. 4.

The dinner, held in Asheville, is one of two major fundraisers each year and often draws major national politicians and consultants to North Carolina. Past speakers have included current vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden.

It drew some controversy last year when a Republican group threatened to protest over the dinner being named for former governors Zebulon Vance and Charles Brantley Aycock, arguing that the two men were racist. Then Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore also said the name should be changed.

In response, Democratic Party chairman Jerry Meek appointed a special task force this year to look into alternative names for the dinner.

"The task force met in June and was unable to come to a consensus on what the new name should be," party spokeswoman Kerra Bolton wrote in e-mail to Dome.

She said the task force will continue its work and make a report next February.

Post points to Jones

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones may be a fan of a new book urging the prosecution of George W. Bush.

The Washington Post reports that the Farmville Republican is likely the "conservative Southern Congressman" who called author Vincent Bugliosi on June 16 to say he is a big fan of his book.

The name of the book: "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder."

"In a subsequent phone conversation, Bugliosi says he asked Mr. Southern Conservative Congressman if it would be better that the author not disclose the name of his biggest Republican fan on Capitol Hill," the Post story said. "The congressman, according to Bugliosi, replied, 'It's better that my name not come out at this point. But I promise you that after the election I'll be standing there by your side.'"

The book pushes the argument that Bush should be tried for murder for the invasion of Iraq.

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