A lot of people probably don't remember the bruising fight between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. But the Mitt Romney/Newt Gingrich battle royal is drawing comparisons.

In the Carter/Kennedy dustup, then President Carter set the tone before Kennedy entered the race, famously saying, "If Kennedy runs, I'll whip his ass." Kennedy retaliated with some nastiness of his own.

Carter, who put the Iowa caucuses on the map in the 1976 campaign, won the state again in '80. Kennedy grabbed some big states including Pennsylvania and New York. But in the end, Carter won most of the races and the nomination. He lost to Ronald Reagan in the general election. The feud between the two lasted a long time, as a story by CBS News' Peter Maer recounts.

The fight between Gingrich and Romney has gotten nastier and nastier each day, with the final days getting really mean. Jon Ward of the Huff Post said that Gingrich had unleashed "wild attacks" on Romney.

Foxx says no? No surprise.

So, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx decided not to run for governor. A surprise? Hardly. Becoming a governor isn't easy. It takes superb organization, lots of money, and great timing. Just ask Pat McCrory or Richard Vinroot, two other Charlotte mayors who've pitched their hats into the ring previously.

None of those things weighed in Foxx's favor this year. McCrory, of course, is making another run.

If he had decided to run, Foxx's candidacy would have presented another chance for North Carolinians to break down a barrier. Until Bev Perdue, N.C. voters had not elected a woman chief executive. And they have never elected a non-white chief executive.

North Carolina joins almost all of the 50 states in that regard. South Carolina broke that barrier by electing Republican Nikki Haley as chief executive. And it got a two-fer in the process with Haley being a woman and an Indian American.

There have been only four black governors in the U.S. - two elected ones. Women have fared better. Thirty-five have served or are serving as governors, including Perdue and five others today.