I’ve talked to dozens of politicians, reporters, and others here in North Carolina who insist that the Bob Etheridge they saw in the “Who Are You?” video earlier this week bears no relationship to the man they’ve known for decades as a county commissioner, state legislator, state school superintendent, and congressman. In fact, I’m one of those people who found Etheridge’s behavior surprising, given my own experiences with him over two decades.

It turns out, however, that we may not have really known the man at all. From the Southern Pines (N.C.) Pilot comes an account of a previous incident:

Brandon Leslie, who moved away seven years ago and is now an attorney in Oxford, Miss., said he had an encounter with the now seven-term Democratic congressman from Lillington almost 14 years ago.
In the fall of 1996, when Leslie was a senior at Pinecrest High School, he said he met Etheridge at a Pinecrest football game. Etheridge—then the state superintendent of public instruction—was challenging incumbent Republican David Funderburk for his congressional seat. At the time, Moore County was part of the 2nd District, which Etheridge now represents.
Leslie said he introduced himself to Etheridge and asked him about his stance on a particular education program. He said Etheridge didn’t answer his question, so he pressed him two more times.
“And that’s when he grabbed me by the shoulders, he shook me, and I’ll never forget it, he said, ‘Son, you need to learn to respect your elders,’” he said by phone on Wednesday. “I was just so taken aback, I think my jaw just dropped, and he walked off.”

By the way, Leslie is a liberal Democrat who does, indeed, support the Obama agenda. He just doesn’t support politicians acting like jerks. Soon the voters of North Carolina’s 2nd District will have their chance to weigh in on the matter.