Pat McCrory sure isn’t getting his money’s worth out of all those political hacks he’s hired. They’re on staff to shape the message, protect the governor and convey his vision to the people of North Carolina. Instead, they’ve left their boss swinging in the wind while picking up healthy paychecks for being less than competent.

McCrory did a series of interviews this week and he sure looks bad. He’s neither well prepared nor armed with good talking points.

I mean whose idea was it to have the governor compare voting to “Breaking Bad?” Over the past week, McCrory has repeatedly said that voting is like buying sudafed. No, it’s not. Voting is a constitutional right. Buying large quantities of sudafed is linked to cooking meth. It’s not the same thing. Not even close.

And how about blaming all of your woes on the “liberal press?” Geez, half the papers he’s attacking endorsed him in the election. They are disappointed because he’s not the governor they expected. McCrory clearly ran as a moderate but is governing as one of the most conservative governors in the country. The media didn’t move left over the last 8 months. The legislature and governor took a hard right turn. Whoever advised him to pick a fight with largest newspapers and TV stations in the state should have had his or her walking papers.

Finally, blaming “well organized” outside groups for pointing out his mistakes is laughable and disingenuous. This is a guy who has a “private nonprofit,” Renew North Carolina, promoting his agenda and he helps them raise money. His budget director, Art Pope, was a major contributor and board member of Americans for Prosperity, the right-wing advocacy group that organizes Tea Party-like rallies across the state. Whining that “liberal advocacy” groups are distorting his message is just that, whining–and nobody likes a whiner.

According to the AP, McCrory has a whole team of political operatives inside his administration making good money. Yet, he’s looked inept, dishonest, unprepared and naive throughout his tenure. He’s offered no tangible vision for the future of the state and had his ass handed to him by the legislature.

At least some of that responsibility belongs to the political team. Maybe they have done all they can do with McCrory–some politicians are just that bad. But maybe they aren’t up to the job.

During the session, McCrory went to the mat with state employees to make it easier to fire incompetent workers. Given his falling approval numbers and his propensity for prevarication, maybe he should start with his own staff.

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