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So much for my certainty that Governor Beverly Perdue was going to seek reelection.

Governor Perdue surprised the press, including this journalist, and almost everyone else, when she withdrew from this year’s governor’s race.

No one in the media and none of my political observer sources knew why she stepped down other than the reason she gave to supporters last week.  She said she wanted to devote her energies to education funding without being accused of political motives.

She has been and is a fighter.  But she’s also been a hard-headed realist.  You can see that in her legislative voting record over the years.  She certainly is aware of her constantly low favorability ratings in polls.  I suspect that the decision was hers.  Mostly.

Her determined stand against budget cuts to education will mark her in history.  The greater marker is that she is the first woman elected as North Carolina’s governor.

The political fallout of her decision is heavy.  Democrats will first have to find a strong candidate, and with the exception of Lt. Governor Walter Dalton, the field is lacking in statewide campaign experience, statewide name recognition and talent for raising 10 to 12 million dollars.

Former University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles is at the top of the lists of many Democratic political bulls.  He would be the Republican’s scariest nightmare.

But Bowles has served his public duty and is wealthy enough not to need the job.  He and his wife Crandall, a former CEO herself, should not be blamed if they choose a less crazy life.

The story of Governor Perdue’s withdrawal appeared first in The Washington Post.  That is a clear clue that President Obama is very interested in the governor’s race.

The President sees North Carolina as a critical win in his own re-election.  He wants someone at the top of the state Democratic ticket strong enough to help him and congressional Democrats in November.  He probably will be involved in helping recruit such a gubernatorial candidate.

Governor Perdue’s decision also throws a wrench into Republican Pat McCrory’s gubernatorial campaign.  The politically attractive former Charlotte mayor announced his intention to seek the office Tuesday.

He now will have to change his campaign strategy and dump all the 30-second attack ads against Governor Perdue.  Given the dramatic change in landscape, he may even face a primary challenge.

Charles Dickens had a phrase for McCrory’s and the Democrats’ dilemma:  “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.”  So it is.