THE RANT: Perdue proving to be lamest duck

There are few greater signs of failure in politics then a term-limited incumbent choosing not to run for reelection. Gov. Bev Perdue can say she chose not to run again so she could spend her final year in office fighting for education, but there's little doubt that she chose to pass on a run for a second term to avoid what many expected to be a potentially embarrassing loss in November. But the way things are going, she'll be hard pressed to avoid embarrassment in general.