Mark Binker says the claims in Beverly Perdue's ad check out.

In an ad watch on the News & Record site, he writes that her claims to have helped keep military bases open, led the fight for Smart Start, raised teacher salaries and provided health insurance for 115,000 children are mostly fair:

The claim regarding military bases is fair, although it neglects to spread credit to other players, such as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican. Perdue led the state's efforts to make sure the so-called BRAC process did not hurt North Carolina and has been visible on the issue. Making North Carolina "the most military-friendly state in the nation" has been a mantra of her time in office.

However, he says that Smart Start "was, is and forever will be" seen as the signature policy of former Gov. Jim Hunt, though Perdue played a role as chair of the Senate Education Committee.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue will air her first TV ad this week.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore aired his first TV ad Sunday.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa—Like the other presidential candidates, John Edwards plans to take a several day Christmas break after Saturday.

But also like most of the the other presidential hopefuls, Edwards plans to keep a presence on the airwaves in the crucial primary and caucus states, Rob Christensen reports.

On Sunday, Edwards will begin running TV ads in Iowa,  New Hampshire and South Carolina asking people to remember that one out of every four homeless people is a veteran and that 37 millions Americans live in poverty.

The 30-second ad combines the holiday spirit and a central message of the Edwards campaign. The ad asks Americans to remember the homeless veterans and the poor.

"Who speaks for them? We do," says the ad. "This is the season of miracles, of faith and love. So let us promise together, you will never be forgotten again."

The early primary season,  the Iowa caucuses began Jan. 3, have put the candidates in a bind on how to hard to campaign at a time when most voters are focused on celebrating the holidays with friends and family.”

Edwards is scheduled to  resume campaigning the day after Christmas.

John Edwards spent a lot of time this week with low-wage workers and their families to highlight one of his central campaign issues, fighting poverty in America.

But the anti-poverty campaign is risky, reports Rob Christensen. The emphasis on poor people invites contrasts with the Democratic candidate's own wealth, and opens him to criticism that he is a Johnny-come-lately to the issue.

Elizabeth Edwards' campaign ad for her husband, running in New Hampshire, continues to make news. Slate's John Dickerson wrote the ad line where she refers to him as someone who can "stare the worst in the face and not blink" references the family's hardships, including her cancer.

She responds, writing that Dickerson needs to consider the clients her husband represented when he was practicing law.

Homebuilders are trying to use the kids, too.

The push in the statehouse to let Wake County and other fast-growing areas impose a transfer tax on real estate sales for school funding is often portrayed as an effort to help the kids.

In a new commercial that started airing Monday, opponents of the tax try to steal that thunder, Toby Coleman reports.

The commercial, paid for by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, portrays a man and a woman standing in front of a yellow home with a "SOLD" sign out front. The woman is holding flowers in her gardening gloves.

They argue that the transfer tax, which would impose a tax on home sales, is essentially double taxation. They even imply it would make homes unaffordable for the kids running in the background.

"Let's make sure our children can afford the American Dream — by saying no to transfer taxes," the woman says at the end.

Tim Minton, executive director of the association, said it plans on spending about $75,000 to run the ads on local news broadcasts until the legislative session ends.