Rock star Bono met with Dot Helms, the widow of former Sen. Jesse Helms, before Saturday night's U2 concert in Raleigh, to express his appreciation for the late senator's work to combat AIDS in Africa.

The two men had formed an unlikely alliance and friendship during Helms' final years in the Senate, and Bono asked for a chance to meet with Dot Helms during his Raleigh concert, Rob Christensen reports.

At a back stage meeting, Bono greeted Dot Helms warmly and said it was because of "Jesse" that more than 3 million children are alive and on anti-retroviral drugs today in Africa, according to Jimmy Broughton, Helms' former chief of staff, who accompanied Dot Helms.

Dot Helms did not stay for the concert, but she was accompanied by several of her grandchildren who did.

Dot Helms was deeply touched and delighted to see Bono, according to Broughton, and said she hoped other senators were helping him with his efforts for global AIDS relief.

So U2's shout-out to John Edwards has Dome thinking about the perfect song from the band's extensive catalogue for our former senator.

Edwards has used U2's "Beautiful Day" on the campaign trail. That doesn't quite work anymore.

We've spent way more time on this than we should, so we'll leave it to you, Dome reader, to pick which U2 song suits now best suits Edwards. We've nominated a few.

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At the U2 concert this weekend the crowd would have gone wild for just about everything Bono said or sang.

Which made it all the more awkward when Bono got to his inevitable sermonizing, said several of those who caught the show. He was talking about his "One" project, which works against poverty and disease, particularly in Africa. Bono praised North Carolina for having two prominent politicians who have worked hard for that cause. On the right, he said, was the late Sen. Jesse Helms. (Bono of course had developed an understanding with Helms).

And on the left, was John Edwards.

That's when it got uncomfortable.

"I've never experienced an awkward silence at a rock concert before," writes Joe Gregorio on his blog, echoing what Dome has heard from others.

Gov. Beverly Perdue should get an invitation soon.

Although the new governor said at her inaugural ball that the time for partying would soon end, she will get an invitation soon from the McClatchy Co. to the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1885, it is the oldest and most prestigious journalism group in the nation's capital, and the annual white-tie dinner has featured speeches by every U.S. president since then except Grover Cleveland.

The newspaper chain, which owns the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer, has also sent invitations to Bono, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and nine other notables.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole tried to name an AIDS bill after former Sen. Jesse Helms.

The Salisbury Republican introduced an amendment to add Helms' name to the title of a $50 billion bill to combat AIDS as well as malaria and tuberculosis in Africa. The amendment never came up for a vote.

Helms went through a personal evolution on AIDS policy.

As a deeply conservative senator, he often drew the ire of gay activists for opposing needle exchanges and saying that all AIDS cases could be traced to sodomy. Late in his Senate career, he changed his view on foreign relief programs and teamed with Irirsh rock star Bonot to work on AIDS relief.

After the Huffington Post reported on the amendment attempt, word spread through the blogosphere, with many citing Helms' quotes and record on AIDS policy.

A Dole spokesman said the amendment wasn't considered because it was introduced too late. (N&O) 

Here's a quick look at how newspapers, blogs and others are playing the news that Jesse Helms has died:

— "There are two million people alive in Africa today, because Jesse Helms did the right thing," said rock star Bono who worked with Helms on relieving AIDS in Africa.

— Jesse Helms finally dies, The Village Voice.

— “America lost a great public servant and true patriot today,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

— The End of a Bigot, Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish

— "He practices what he preached, always. He believed that what he was doing was right, as far as I know," Claude Sitton, former editor of The News & Observer and frequent critic of Helms. "To my knowledge, he never put his finger in the public till and was honest about his beliefs, which were not my beliefs. But he went his way and I went mine."

— "A polarizer, not a compromiser," — Larry Margasak, veteran AP congressional reporter.

Bono, frontman of the rock band U2, talks about his experience lobbying former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina to help pay for prescription drugs for African AIDS victims, in the documentary "Senator No," by filmmaker John Wilson.

The documentary airs on UNC-TV tonight at 9 p.m. The video can also be seen here.

Adam Searing gives two thumbs up to "Senator No."

Writing on the Progressive Pulse blog, the health care policy analyst says he saw the new documentary on former Sen. Jesse Helms last night.

For anyone interested in NC politics the documentary is fascinating and even holds a few surprises. Despite their mysterious loss at WRAL, John did manage to uncover footage from one of the national networks of a couple of Helm’s famous viewpoint video editorials that made him so famous. There are great documents from the NC Banker’s Association where Helms led for a time and where he managed to turn the association newsletter into an editorial blunderbuss against integration.

The documentary also features the N&O's Rob Christensen and rock star Bono.

It airs on UNC-TV at 9 p.m. next Tuesday.

* Oliver Stone thinks America is like the Soviet Union; John Edwards, not so much. The two also disagree on the merits of "The Shawshank Redemption." (FadeIn)

* Bono praised in book on "wooing" for successfully convincing U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms to support $435 million in debt relief for Africa in 2000. (Time)

* U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole meets with sheriffs in Carolina Beach, proposes giving local deputies more power to work on illegal immigration. (WS-N)

* Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue stresses reducing dropout rate and raising teacher pay; gives position on illegal immigration: "We want legal immigration." (Burlington Times-News)