couldn't get Ed Turlington, Edwards' 2004 campaign chairman, elected state party chair.

Any other year, his endorsement might still mean something in the primary. But turnout is going to be huge, people have already pretty much made up their minds, and given Obama's congressional district strategy, his endorsements from congressmen Price, Watt, and Butterfield - as well as a significant number of mayors - will carry a lot more weight than anything Easley could muster.

Oh, o/t, but on the subject of mayors - Markos keeps talking about endorsements by mayors being key because of the machines they command through patronage. I don't know about other states, but in North Carolina that's got to be the most ignorant statement he's ever made.

Almost all city gov'ts here are council/manager systems in which hiring decisions are made by city managers and their staffs, so patronage doesn't come into play. Local elections are almost always off-year, almost entirely nonpartisan, and are so far under the average voter's radar that the turnout largely consists of political junkies, ideologues, and a decent number of conscientious citizens - none of whom are likely to be swayed by a Tammany-style machine. Mayors and city councils tend to get elected by forming coalitions of people with money and the core voters of one or other of the two major parties.

Forming such coalitions takes some political skill, so a mayor's endorsement carries a fair amount of moral weight. But if you want patronage-fueled machines, you'd be better off asking who got the endorsement of the local sheriff (who appoints his deputies) or the local register of deeds (who appoints the deputy registers).