When Gov. Beverly Perdue rocked the political establishment Jan. 26 by announcing her plans not to run for re-election, she made history. Since the state constitution was changed to allow Jim Hunt to seek a second term in 1980, each North Carolina governor has served eight years at a time.

In addition to making history, Perdue’s announcement will make politicians do a bit more work this week than originally planned. Potential rivals for the Democratic nomination will scramble to assess their chances. Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, whom Perdue narrowly defeated in 2008, will have to reshape his 2012 strategy to account for a different opponent.

As North Carolina remains a state of social graces, I submit that Perdue’s announcement should at the very least result in a series of personal notes to the governor and other players in the drama. For example:

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