Oral history interview with Bob Scott, September 18, 1986

Bob Scott, former governor of North Carolina and the state's community college system president, describes his tenure as governor and discusses North Carolina politics. Neither Scott's political ideology nor his political goals make an appearance in this interview. However, his proudest accomplishments include helping rural schools and communities, an indication that his own background as a farmer may have led him to focus on constituents often overlooked by the political process. This focus on people, rather than polls, is what distinguishes Scott from his successors, he believes: he laments the decline of face-to-face politics. Finally, he seeks to explain the decline of the Democratic Party in North Carolina, citing internal squabbling and the leftward drift of the national party. This interview will be useful for students of North Carolina politics.