John McCain is buying air time in North Carolina.

The Republican presidential candidate had not previously aired TV ads specifically here, although North Carolinians had seen other ads on national cable shows.

Following earlier attacks on the Democratic candidate as a "celebrity," the ad shows footage of Barack Obama's Berlin speech.

"Take away the crowds, the chants — all that's left are costly words," a female narrator says. "Barack Obama and out-of-touch Congressional leaders have expensive plans, billions in new government spending, years of deficits, no balanced budgets and painful tax increases on working American families."

The ad then shows pictures of Obama and U.S. Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Harry Reid of Nevada, Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Chuck Schumer of New York.

The choice of "Congressional leaders" is interesting. Dodd is a former Democratic presidential candidate, Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, Leahy an antagonist of Vice President Dick Cheney and Schumer is heading the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Still, these are faces better known to Washington insiders — Dome and his colleagues had to play the ad three times to name them all — and Reid is shown twice. None are running for re-election this year and the ad is not running in any of their states.

In days gone by, Republicans would have linked Obama to Ted Kennedy, though his cancer may have made him too sympathetic to serve that purpose. Still, the absence of Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi is worth pondering.

Barack Obama won't talk to any of the reporters traveling with him about the subject of a vice presidential running mate.

But he did entertain a question from a voter tonight at a town hall meeting in Raleigh, reports Margaret Talev of McClatchy's Washington bureau.

The man's premise was that President Bush had looked to Vice President Dick Cheney for heavy hitting on many fronts.

"What's your plan to utilize your vice president?" the man asked

While Obama's answer was predictably critical of the Bush-Cheney team, his response also seemed revealing in that he did not emphasize Washington experience, foreign policy experience or age.

Instead, he talked about a running mate's need to be passionate about domestic policy issues. He also said he wants someone who would feel comfortable playing an active role in advising and challenging him.

"I won't hand over my energy policy to my vice president," he said. "I won't have my vice president engineering my foreign policy for me."

Obama said wants a running mate who is "independent" and willing to tell him, if elected, "You know what, Mr. President, you're wrong on this and here's why" and will help him think through major issues.

About 900 people are at Jesse Helms' funeral today.

Notable guests, including several U.S. senators and Vice President Dick Cheney, are in the main part of the church, which seats 800. That area is packed.

But an overflow room in a church gym around the corner is mostly empty. Only 35 of the 800 folding chairs set up to watch a projection of the closed video feed from WRAL are filled. 

A handful of people took snapshots from across the street as the VIPs arrived, but they've all left since the funeral began.  

Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to attend Jesse Helms' funeral.

Among the lawmakers who planned to attend the funeral today are U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr and several members of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina, Lisa Zagaroli reports.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, plans to give one of the eulogies at the request of Helms' family.

All votes in the U.S. Senate have been postponed so that a delegation of senators can attend Helms' funeral.

The Raleigh-Durham International Airport spent $4,500 on President Bush.

Airport spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin said that the extra costs for law enforcement and administrative duties during Bush's June fundraiser for GOP gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory were at the higher end for a high-profile visit.

She said a quick stop by a presidential candidate or April's visit by Vice President Dick Cheney typically costs several thousand dollars, but the higher cost was due to the size of the motorcade, the needs of Air Force One and Secret Service requests.

Taxpayers did not really foot the bill for the costs. The airport's roughly $80 million budget comes from contracts with airlines and vendors, though it receives $12,500 apiece from Wake and Durham counties and the cities of Raleigh and Durham.

Raleigh police did not spend extra. Spokesman Jim Sughrue said they rearrange policing schedules to provide security for high-profile visitors to avoid overtime expenses since they are routine in the capital, though that means fewer cops were on the beat the rest of the week.

Gaston County Republicans may be breathing a little easier.

Vice President Dick Cheney won't be attending tomorrow's Shotgun Social near Gastonia.  The Gaston County GOP invited Cheney to what party officials call the first shotgun fundraiser in North Carolina, Jim Morrill reports.

For $80, participants can shoot at clay targets. Non-shooters pay $30.

In 2006, Cheney accidentally shot a friend in the face while hunting in Texas.

Neil Moore, the Gaston GOP chairman, said he's not surprised that the vice president wouldn't attend an event where, after all, everybody is armed.

"It would take a small army of Secret Service to block off the area," Moore said.

The shotgun social will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kings Pinnacle Development on Unity Church Road. For tickets, call 704-868-3330. 

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's chief of staff, Alicia Peterson Clark, will leave that post to take a job for a public relations firm in Washington.

Clark started with Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, during his House of Representatives days, serving as scheduler, press secretary and chief of staff, Barb Barrett reports.

She worked with with the Bush-Cheney campaign during the 2000 presidential race and in the White House during the first Bush term. She returned to Burr's Senate office as his chief of staff in 2005.

Replacing Clark will be Chris Joyner, Burr's former policy director. Joyner is returning to Capitol Hill from the lobbying world. He left Burr's office in March 2006 to work for the American Petroleum Institute, where he lobbied on energy issues.

Joyner will be back as Burr's chief of staff June 2.

"You always hate these things, but I knew she'd be here for only a finite period of time," Burr said about Clark’s departure.

"I'm looking forward to having Chris Joyner come back," Burr said. "From an office perspective, I don't think we’re going to miss a beat, because he was trained by Alicia."

Correction: An earlier version had some details incorrect. 

Dick Cheney stopped by Tom Fetzer's place Monday.

The vice president came for a fundraiser for the North Carolina Republican Party's political victory fund at the Raleigh political consultant's apartment on Hillsborough Street.

About 70 people came to the event, said Fetzer, a well-known consultant and former mayor of Raleigh. He said it was the first time he's hosted a major fundraiser.

"The White House and the Secret Service come in and they turn you upside down for about two or three days," he said. 

Cheney spoke for about an hour and a half about the war in Iraq, the state of the nation and his hopes to leave the presidency and the vice presidency "in good hands" next year.

Fetzer said Cheney was much different from his public image.

"He's different than most politicians," he said. "He's very reserved, very soft-spoken, but very knowledgeable, not bombastic in any way. I think that people here really enjoyed his remarks." 

he talked about the war in Iraq, a little bit of the state of the nation and he and the president were not coasting to the finish line but wanted to finish strong, but would hopefully leave the presidency and the vice presidency in good hands which I took to mean Republican hands.

The street outside Fetzer's apartment, above the offices for Fetzer Stephens, was closed during the visit, which was from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Previously: Cheney coming to North Carolina.

Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in North Carolina at 4:05 p.m. today, said Brent Woodcox, spokesman for the state Republican Party.

Cheney, whose Secret Service code name is "Angler," is meeting at a private residence for a fundraiser for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. He is scheduled to leave the state at 7:05 p.m.

Woodcox said about 4:30 p.m. that Cheney was at the fundraiser and was about to make his entrance.

N.C. Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek says Vice President Dick Cheney should either disavow the recent ad by the N.C. Republican Party or cancel his planned fundraising trip to Raleigh on Monday.

The ad, which links Democratic gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is scheduled to start airing on Monday.

"The vice president should demand that state Republican leaders withdraw this ad, or refuse to come to North Carolina on the very day this ad begins to run," Meek said in a statement.