The presidential election is still a year away, but the Obama administration is already sending a steady stream of officials to North Carolina, a key battleground state.

This week Neal Wolin, deputy secretary of the Department of the Treasury, was in Raleigh to attend the annual North Carolina Affordable Housing Conference.

Wolin stopped by the News & Observer this afternoon to talk about the administration's economic proposals, including its efforts to assist struggling homeowners.

Wolin defended the administration's record in regards to foreclosure prevention and other attempts to quicken the housing market's recovery.

He said the administration's programs for loan modifications and refinancing, the first-time homebuyer tax credits, and efforts to make loan servicers operate more responsibly have made a difference.
 

Ping Fu continues to reinforce her role as the local entrepreneur who has become a go-to small business resource for the Obama Administration.

The CEO and founder of Geomagic, a 3-D software company based in Research Triangle Park, was among the speakers in Washington today who helped kick off Obama's campaign to increase investment in start-up companies. The appearance follows several visits to Washington last year, including as Michelle Obama's guest at the State of the Union.

The "Startup America" effort involves using $2 billion from the Small Business Administration, with matching funds from private foundations and big technology companies such as IBM and Intel, to provide seed and early-stage investments in firms with high-growth potential.

Fu is a passionate advocate for small businesses and women-led firms in particular. She got a call from White House officials on Saturday night, asking her to be in Washington by this morning and didn't hesitate.

"It's important for entrepreneurs to have a voice in the capital," Fu said. "This is a starting point, but this administration really seems to get it."

The Obama administration's announcement today that it is freezing pay for federal workers for two years will be felt in the Triangle.

Durham and Wake county were home to 5,616 federal employees in 2009, according to an online database operated by the Ashbury Park Press. The database is based on information from the U.S. Office of Personal Management.

Those numbers do not include employees of the White House, Congress, the Postal Service, and independent agencies and commissions.

The federal agencies with the largest presence in the Triangle are the Veterans Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. The two agencies employ 3,661 of the 4,687 federal workers in Durham County.

Federal employees in Durham and Wake counties account for about 32 percent of all the 18,742 federal employees in North Carolina.

The Obama administration unveiled a $600 million financial aid package for five states, including North Carolina, that are plagued by high unemployment rates.

North Carolina is eligible to receive $159 million of the aid, which will go to housing agencies in states with counties where the unemployment rate is above 12 percent.

In addition to North Carolina, the other four receiving a piece of the $600 million are Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina and Rhode Island.

The money is intended to prevent foreclosures.

It comes on the heels of the Obama Administration pledging $1.5 billion in funding for states that have seen the biggest decline in housing prices: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada.

The Obama administration is saying that Janet Napolitano's "The system worked" comment after the abortive plot to blow up a jet has been taken out of context. The homeland security chief has been getting beat up a lot over this quote by commentators and bloggers and Republicans, who argue that our heightened, post-9/11 security measures failed to keep a would-be bomber off a plane.

If you listen to the interview, it is pretty clear that Napolitano is talking about what happened after the bomber tried to ignite explosives. 

So the administration has a point, that her remarks were taken out of context. 

But Napolitano created her own problem by trying to get too clever, and by relentlessly trying to change the subject from the failures of our security system to what happened after the fact.  It was like saying that after a bridge fell into the river because of faulty construction and inadequate inspections, the fact that ambulances showed up promptly to take away the dead proved that the "system worked."  

In the old days, her statement wouldn't have made much of a stir. But today, in the 24/7 news cycle and with the blogosphere elevating every gaffe to the status of cosmic blunder, her comment has had an extended shelf life.

One of the reasons that I don't much care for cable news shows is that virtually every comment by every guest is predictable. It's either defend, defend, defend or attack, attack, attack. It is like watching two high school debating teams, constantly trying to score points.  The administration refuses to admit any errors and the opposition refuses to cut the administration any slack. Nuance is banned. This is the environment in which Napolitano was operating.  But there is a difference between being accountable for your governance and being a talking head on cable. 

More context doesn't help Napolitano here.

--Dan Barkin