Per WRAL:

Carter was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win North Carolina. That was in 1976. Bill Clinton came close to carrying the state, but the inability to do so is something that continues to frustrate and puzzle some party leaders.

It’s a race issue. There’s no doubt,” Carter said. “Ever since Lyndon Johnson became a hero in the Democratic party for ending racial discrimination, Republicans have been very shrewd in capitalizing on the race issue by different means.”

Sure, Mr. President — it’s just because of race politics. It has nothing to do with the fact that the Democrats from 1980 on have been you, the benchmark by which all other bad presidents are judged, followed by Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry. There’s only one winner in that bunch, and you think the problem is with North Carolina?

As for implying that race is the issue, stow it. The race war between Sens. Clinton and Obama has been monumental (and tiresome), and it stands to reason. Yours is an ideology that has to categorize people according to racial groups rather than acknowledging them as individuals. You cannot purge racism from your party when it is so heavily invested in noticing race. When presented with other problems, such as why haven’t Democrats managed to find a presidential candidate worthy of North Carolina’s support, this paradox apparently leads you to think, even then, of race first.