Speaking to students at a private school in Asheville Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler said Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not the evil boogeywoman some on the right like to make her out as.

"She's the most misunderstood person in Washington," said Shuler, who often breaks with the House leadership to maintain his status as a conservative Blue Dog Democrat.

According to the Asheville Citizen Times, Shuler told students about a meeting he had with Pelosi during his first term when he told her never to ask him to vote against his constituency.

"She’s held true to that promise," he said. Pelosi is a devout Catholic and Shuler advised against trying to "get in a Bible discussion with her." He also recalled a time when his daughter, Island, was a baby and started crying on the floor of the House.

"She [Pelosi] raced down, picked her up and took her to her mother Nikol," he told the students. "Her grandma instincts kicked in."

The National Republican Congressional Committee quickly — and figuratively — dogged on the former Redskins quarterback for speaking nice about the often maligned Democratic leader.

"Heath Shuler is the one who's 'misunderstood,'" NRCC spokesman Andy Seré said. "He may call himself a Blue Dog, but Shuler’s lavish Pelosi-praise has revealed him to be little more than a lap dog for the most liberal speaker in U.S. history. She may have let him off the leash this weekend in a vain attempt to salvage his re-election bid, but his political affair with Nancy Pelosi is destined to land him in the doghouse with Western North Carolinians."

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt has $140,282 in his campaign account, according to federal campaign finance records.

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, received $8,987 from individual contributions and $74,500 from political action committees for a total of $83,500 raised through September.

Contributors include Valerie White of Bethesda, Md. ($1,000); the NFL's Gridiron PAC ($5,000); the Citigroup PAC ($5,000) and a PAC of Echostar and Dish Network $2,500.

Republican Paul Johnson has loaned himself $133 and Libertarian Lon Vernon Cecil has not reported raising any money.

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre has $824,917 in his campaign account, according to federal election records.

McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat, has received $306,873 from individual contributions and $73,250 from political action committees for a total of $384,000 raised through September. 

Contributors include lawyer Stephen D. Coggins of Wilmington ($2,400); homemaker Abbie Edwards of Whiteville ($2,300); builder Charles Garrett Jr. of Wilmington ($2,000); the National Restaurant Association PAC ($2,000) and the American Hospital Association PAC ($2,000).

Republican Will Breazeale has received $3,800 in individual contributions and has $400 in his campaign account.

Here's a summary of what members of Congress had in their campaign accounts through September 2009. The remaining members of the state's delegation will be added to the list.

G.K. Butterfield: $231,000.

Howard Coble: $525,000.

Bob Etheridge: $1 million.

Virginia Foxx: $1.1 million.

Walter Jones: $127,766.

Larry Kissell: $244,000. Businessman Lou Huddleston has raised $57,641 from individuals and loaned himself $45,125. Tim D'Annunzio, who owns a skydiving business, has loaned himself $303,000 and raised $8,400. Hamlet resident Darrell Day has raised $30 and loaned himself $3,000. Republican Thomas Sweeney has not reported raising any money.

Patrick McHenry: $158,000. Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle has loaned himself $250,000 to challenge McHenry for the Republican nomination.

Mike McIntyre: $824,917. Republican Will Breazeale has received $3,800 in individual contributions and has $400 in his campaign account.

Brad Miller: $148,000. Challenger William Randall II has not reported raising any money.

David Price: $218,000. Republican challenger Frank Roche has raised $10,879, mostly through individual contributions. Republican George Hutchins has loaned himself $5,000.

Heath Shuler: $1.1 million.

Mel Watt: $140,000.

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler has $1.1 million in his campaign account through the end of September.

Shuler, a Waynesville Democrat, has received $366,000 since he was elected in 2008, according to federal campaign finance records.

Shuler received $178,236 from individual contributions and $171,050 from committees.

Contributors include Vincent Ney of San Antonio, president of payday lender GECC ($2,500); William Quinton of Powder Springs, Ga., president of C.W. Matthews Contracting; Independent Community Bankers of America PAC ($5,000) and a PAC of the American Resort Development Owners Association ($5,000).

Shuler, a member of the House's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, also received $5,000 contributions from PACs for rail companies Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail company and CSX as well as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

In a blistering editorial Thursday morning, The Charlotte Observer took U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Banner Elk, to the woodshed for comments she made on the House floor earlier this week that Americans had more to fear from the Democrats reforming health care than from any terrorist attack.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx is a visible reminder of the Forrest Gump saying, "Stupid is as stupid does." Foxx has made so many gaffes since her first election to Congress in 2004 that it's more than just mildly embarrassing for North Carolina. It's find-an-island-to-ship-her-to embarrassing. And it's becoming how-can-voters-keep-electing-her embarrassing.

The editorial then goes on to recount a litany of statements and actions by Foxx it characterizes as either hypocritical or dumb, and then urges voters in her 5th district, which stretches from the Piedmont to the mountains, to turn her out of office in 2010.

Count that as a strong negative endorsement from the state's largest newspaper a year before the election. Maybe the congresswoman should reply with a box of chocolates.

NOT SO FAST: The N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks has proposed new regulations that would stop foreclosure once a homeowner asks for a loan modification. The rule would give homeowners more time to try to keep their homes. (N&O)

TO THE RIGHT: Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year. (AP)

TAX TALKS: Lawmakers met for the first of a series of meetings that will focus on proposals to overhaul the state's tax system. (AP) 

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx has $1.1 million in her campaign account, according to federal campaign finance records.

Foxx, a Banner Elk Republican, has received $322,000 during the current election cycle. Of her contributions, more than $252,000 were from individuals and more than $70,500 were from political action committees or other campaigns, records show.

Notable contributors include Richard V. Higgins of Taylorsville, president of gel-coating maker HK Research ($2,400); Robert Luddy of Wake Forest, president of kitchen ventilation company CaptiveAire; a political action committee of American Crystal Sugar Company of Moorhead, Minn., ($5,000) and a PAC of the National Beer Wholesalers Association in Alexandria, Va., ($2,500).

Federal elections records list no opponent for Foxx's seat.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller has $148,348 in his campaign account.

Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, has raised $235,475 since 2007, according to federal campaign finance records. Miller raised $122,987 from individual contributions and $109,700 from political action committees. 

Notable contributors include Robert Page of Greensboro, president of Replacements, Ltd. ($2,400); Raleigh lawyer John T. Orcutt ($2,400) and the trades union United Association ($5,000).

Republican William Randall II has not reported raising any money.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry has raised $340,000 in his bid for re-election.

McHenry, a Cherryville Republican, has $158,000 in his campaign account, according to federal election records. McHenry received $200,000 in political action committee contributions and $139,000 from individuals.

Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle has loaned himself $250,000 to challenge McHenry for the Republican nomination.

Notable contributors to McHenry include George Johnson of South Carolina, the CEO of Extended Stay America hotels ($2,400); Robert Gallagher of Charlotte, the CEO of Good Will Publishing ($2,400); the American Society of Anesthesiologists ($5,000) and a PricewaterhouseCoopers committee ($5,000).