NC Governor: Just Kidding About Suspending Elections

Today's weirdest political brouhaha: North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue spoke to the Rotary Club today and said this: "I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that." The Raleigh News & Observer said her "tone was level" at the time and it was difficult to tell whether the Democratic governor was serious.

The comments drew immediate criticism from state Republicans, and the Drudge Report has featured them prominently, at one point with a red headline. All of which prompted the governor's office to issue this statement late in the afternoon: "Come on. Gov. Perdue was obviously using hyperbole to highlight what we can all agree is a serious problem: Washington politicians who focus on their own election instead of what’s best for the people they serve." Hot Air blogger Allahpundit, for one, thinks the "hyperbole" statement is just an attempt to cover for a "stupid" idea. (More Bev Perdue stories.)