2008 election has a 1992 feeling

This feels like 1992.

No, Michael Jackson's hit "Dangerous" is not topping the charts. "Barney & Friends" is not the hot new TV show for kids. And Vice President Dan Quayle is not decrying the TV sitcom "Murphy Brown" for glorifying unwed mothers.

But there are striking similarities between the elections of 1992 and 2008.

Consider:

* In the presidential race, a Republican war hero with extensive foreign policy experience faces a fresh Democratic face with a charismatic presence who is stressing the economy.

* In the governor's race, a lieutenant governor is seeking to continue his or her party's lease on the Executive Mansion.

* In the U.S. Senate race, a highly credentialed incumbent is facing questions about age.

The names, of course, have changed.

The war hero now is John McCain, not the first President George Bush. Both of them were shot down during combat.

The lieutenant governor now seeking a promotion is Beverly Perdue, not Jim Gardner.

And the highly credentialed incumbent this year is Elizabeth Dole, not Terry Sanford.

This year's campaigns in North Carolina are arguably the most contested since the election 16 years ago. This is the first time since 1992 that North Carolina is a presidential battleground. And as in 1992, there are red-hot races for governor and the U.S. Senate.

In 1992, President Bush was seeking a second term. He had been riding high in the polls because of the success of the Persian Gulf War. But Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton won by stressing economic problems -- "It's the economy, stupid."

Democrats can take comfort that Clinton won that year. Republicans can take comfort that Bush carried North Carolina, barely.

In 1992, Republican Gov. Jim Martin had run the state for two terms but was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. He hoped that Gardner, also a Republican, would succeed him.

This year, two-term Democratic Gov. Mike Easley is prevented from running again. He hopes Perdue, also a Democrat, will succeed him.

Republicans can take comfort that 1992 was a change election, and candidates from the party out of power won. Democrats can take comfort that a Democrat, Jim Hunt, was elected governor.

In 1992, a one-term Democratic U.S. senator with a killer resume, Sanford, was seeking re-election with questions being raised about his age. He was 75.

This year, Dole, a one-term Republican senator with a killer resume, is seeking a second term with questions being raised about her age. She is 72.

Democrats can take heart that in 1992, the aging senator was toppled. Republicans can take heart that Republican Lauch Faircloth upset Sanford.

What were you doing in 1992?

Barack Obama, today's Democratic presidential candidate, was teaching at the University of Chicago, writing a memoir and leading Illinois Project Vote, a voter registration effort.

Sarah Palin, today's Republican vice presidential candidate, was winning a seat on the Wasilla City Council. McCain and Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, were veteran senators.

So put in a CD, maybe some hits from 1992 such as Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places," or Eric Clapton's "Unplugged." And watch this year's 1992-ish election unfold.