Editorial: Tuning in to voters
Thursday, June 30th, 2005
By Chris Fitzsimon
Editorial: Tuning in to voters
It’s a relief to know that Gov. Mike Easley is using Fox TV’s "King of the Hill" to hone his political message, as a recent news story reports.
Given his administration’s penchant for viewing a lottery as the answer to the state’s revenue problems, we’d feared the governor was hooked on "Wheel of Fortune" — or "Fantasy Island." When it comes to political muses, you could do worse than humble Hank Hill, the propane-gas salesman featured in the animated series. He’s a hardworking, both-boots-on-the-ground family man who likes to fish, remains faithful to his wife and enjoys having a beer with his odd-ball assortment of friends. Like the governor, Hank’s a NASCAR fan; unlike the governor, he’s never had the opportunity to crash a stock car into a speedway wall.
Going after a TV show demographic might seem an odd practice, but it isn’t that strange viewed in the context of NASCAR dads, soccer moms, guns-and-God good ‘ol boys (and girls) and similar groups that politicians have recently courted. And even though Hank’s a Texan, his non-ideological perspective translates well into North Carolina — a red state with a broad streak of blue in the statehouse and a rapidly growing constituency of political independents.
Besides, you can’t argue with success. While Easley’s popularity has slipped slightly, it remains strong, according to a new poll conducted for the News & Observer and WRAL-TV shows. The governor’s job handling was rated "excellent" or "good" by 55 percent of North Carolinians. Apparently, even the governor’s critics have softened their views a bit. Those who rate his job performance "poor" have dropped to 4 percent, down from 8 percent a couple of years ago, when the state was in the worst throes of a budget crisis.
Considering Easley’s ability to weather the state’s economic problems and manufacturing losses and retain enough political capital to preserve pet projects such as expanded pre-K programs and the aforementioned lottery, "King of the Hill" isn’t his only TV fare. No doubt he’s also a fan of "Survivor."
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