It was not cowardly for McCrory to skip town the day his unemployment bill bit. Rather, he paid us a courtesy by taking a reprieve from the public eye. Like George W. Bush, McCrory has run a political operation so rife with deceit that the public deserves to be temporarily spared his visage.

Although no one seemed to notice, McCrory’s campaign executed the same scam Bush pulled off in 2000. From the concerned, fatherly gaze to the plaid work shirts on his fictional supporters, the Republican’s ads marketed him as a friend of the working stiff. In one interview, McCrory praised working-class guys and groused about freeloaders who free-ride off the wealthy–all in the course of a few paragraphs. During the campaign, the contradictions didn’t register; genial Pat convinced voters he was compassionate at core.

Now, they are paying the price. McCrory may be “okay with” a tradesman earning more than a lawyer, but since taking office it’s been clear his loyalties lie with the folks at Moore & Van Allen. Whatever tax bill he signs will definitely give law firm partners a windfall while clamping down on their plumbers. And then there are those UI cuts he tried so hard to keep secret.

Again, we’ve seen all of this before. McCrory has his tax “reform,” Bush his eponymous cuts. McCrory failed (for now) to privatize Medicaid; W. lost his Social Security privatization fight. Gate Ball came after Gate Pretzel. Americans might eventually forgive Bush, and North Carolinians may let McCrory off the hook (though hopefully not). This week, though, the Governor should go bury his head in the sand.

Alexander H. Jones

Alexander Jones is an original contributor to PoliticsNC.