Barry Saunders: My Favorite NC Columnist

I really, really like Barry Saunders, columnist for the Raleigh paper. I admit, I have had him in twice to give talks in my classes, and he was great. Gracious, interesting, funny.

But the coolest thing is the columns that he writes. You actually don't know what he is going to say, or how he is going to react, to an issue.

For example, he recently discussed the "job" Mary Easley, the spouse of until-January governor Mike Easley. Ms. Easley had been given a 90% pay raise, for reasons that may be okay, but $170k is a big salary at NC State for someone who has never worked at a university before.

Barry Saunder's response:

The question now becomes when will Mary Easley give up the ghost?

Her reluctance to voluntarily step down from a job paying her $170,000 is understandable, especially in this economic climate. They'd have to threaten me with the release of pictures of underage farm animals and me sipping piña coladas on the beach in a Speedo at sunset before I'd voluntarily go quietly -- and broke -- into that good night.

Barry is a large man, considerably bigger than I am. The vision of him in a speedo, with adolescent sheep, at the beach.....well, I am not going to get over it anytime soon.

Vivid imagery. That's all I'm saying. You don't get that from Krugman.