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It's not uncommon for a politicians words to get twisted and used in a fundraising campaign. (See, McCrory v. Perdue.)

So it's no surprise that folks are trying to capitalize on Republican state Sen. Jim Forrester's remark during gay marriage debate in which he called Asheville "a cesspool of sin." 

But this time it's not a political opponent using Forrester's words against him -- it's a public radio station.

George Olsen says the narrow definition of Down East is correct.

The host of Public Radio East's "Down East Journal" says that the proper definition of the geographical term is the area east of Beaufort and before the ferry landing.

Of course, his show uses the more liberal definition of essentially the coastal plains area, and he says he's heard definitions that are literally all over the map.

Recent episodes of "Down East Journal" have featured towns as far afield from Carteret County as Jacksonville, New Bern and Greenville.

But Olsen's not taking any credit for helping popularize the broader definition.

"I didn't create Down East Journal," he says. "I just inherited it."

Previously: Small business names Down East; a narrow definition of Down East; do Down Easterners have a lock on the governorship?

Gov. Mike Easley argued Barack Obama can win North Carolina on NPR Wednesday.

In an interview on All Things Considered, Easley said he sees the race as a toss-up right now but thinks by election day Obama will take it because of concerns over the economy.

Easley, who famously kept his distance from Democratic candidates Al Gore and John Kerry in his previous re-election campaigns and endorsed Hillary Clinton in the primaries, said he would not have the same concerns this year about Obama.

"Barack Obama's message is one that I would be very comfortable running with," he said. "I'd be out there arm and arm with him if I was running this year, whereas with the previous two elections I was keeping a little distance with the national ticket."

He said Republican John McCain was taking the state for granted until recently, while Obama has done well in urban, suburban and rural areas. 

Easley also repeated two anecdotes he's been pushing recently about a pickup truck with a gun rack and an Obama sticker and his barber's theory on "the reverse Bradley effect."

"Barbers are a great source that you can get a $25,000 poll for fifteen bucks — and that includes a tip," he said. "Oh yeah, you get the haircut too."

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's political action committee has received $848,615 in the last three years.

The Leadership Circle PAC is separate from Dole's campaign committee, so it can receive bigger contributions from donors. As a recent report and database from NPR's Marketplace shows, leadership PACs like it are booming.

Many of Dole's contributors are familiar faces.

Between December of 2004 and December of 2007, her leadership PAC received $20,000 from lieutenant governor candidate Robert Pittenger and his wife, Suzanne; $16,750 from former gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham and his wife, Shari; and $10,000 from SAS co-founder Jim Goodnight.

Other donations came from Raleigh lawyer Kieran Shanahan, CaptiveAire owner Bob Luddy, her husband Bob, Luther Hodges Jr., billionaire resort builder Kirk Kerkorian, Raleigh developer John Kane, and former Dole running mate Jack Kemp.

The Leadership Circle PAC also received money from other PACs, including the Progress Energy PAC, Wachovia Employees Good Government Fund, the N.C. Farm Bureau, and PACs for R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard Tobacco Co., Duke Energy and Federal Express.

Robert Johnson has toned down his pitch for the dream ticket.

In an interview on NPR's "Tell Me More" today, the Charlotte Bobcats owner repeated that he thinks Hillary Clinton would make a good choice for Barack Obama's running mate.

But his language was much more restrained:

Well, first of all, I just want to make clear to your listeners that that decision is, of course, Mr. Obama's. And whether or not Senator Clinton takes it is her decision alone. And as she has stated, she is not at this time seeking the vice presidency. But she also said that she will do everything possible to help the Democratic Party win the White House.

He then said that combining the voters who supported both candidates would be a sure way to unite the party ahead of November's election. 

Johnson previously pushed the idea in separate interviews with Washington Post and CNN on Wednesday and in a letter to U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn.