A recent TV ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee questions U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's effectiveness and support for President Bush.

What it says: Two men are sitting on rocking chairs in front of an old country store. "I'm telling you, Liddy Dole is 93." "93?" "Yep, she ranks 93rd in effectiveness." "After 40 years in Washington?" "After 40 years in Washington, Dole is 93rd in effectiveness, right near the bottom." "I've read she's 92." "Didn't I just tell you she's 93?" "No, 92 percent of the time she votes with Bush." "What's happened to the Liddy Dole I knew?" "She's just not a go-getter, like you and me." A narrator then adds: "The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising."

The background: Dole has worked in Washington in the late 1960s, serving on the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Secretrary of Transportation under President Reagan and U.S. Secretary of Labor under President George H.W. Bush.

In 2002, she was elected U.S. senator from North Carolina.

In her first year in office, Dole voted with President Bush 98 percent of the time, according to an annual study of Senate votes tied to a clear presidential position done by Washington-based news service Congressional Quarterly.

Over the next four years, Dole's support of Bush declined to 85 percent, but her five-year average of support is 91.6 percent.

An annual study conducted since 2005 by the Congressional data service Knowlegis ranks members of Congress on their effectiveness.

After scoring in the middle of the pack the first two years, Dole's rating plummeted to 93rd when Republicans became the minority in the Senate in 2007.

Her rating was also low due to fewer mentions in the news media and service on less powerful committees on banking and armed services.

Dole's campaign notes that those committees are important to North Carolina, home to a number of banks and military bases.

"I've seen hundreds of senators come and go," argued her husband Bob at a recent event. "In both parties, I've seen good senators and I know how they work. You have a work horse and a show horse, and Elizabeth's in the work horse category."

As a side note, the ad subtly implies that Dole is in her 90s. She is actually 72.

Is the ad accurate? Yes, except for the implication about her age. 

Rep. Thomas Wright's effectiveness ranking soared after 1999.

The Wilmington Democrat was not among the top legislators during his first seven years in office, according to a biannual survey by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.

In 1993, he was ranked 66th. In 1995, 83rd. In 1997, 58th.

After he helped swing a close election for speaker of the House to Jim Black in 1999, though, things started looking up for Wright.

In 1999, he was ranked 10th most effective. In 2001, 8th. In 2003, 12th. And in 2005, 13th.

The 2007 rankings haven't been done yet, but Wright's poor attendance record and his legal and ethical woes would probably sink him now.

How effective is Fred Smith in the legislature?

The Clayton Republican was first elected to the state Senate in 2002, and has been re-elected twice.

His rankings in the biannual survey by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research haven't been high, but his effectiveness has been hurt by being in the minority throughout his tenure.

In 2003, Smith was ranked the 30th most effective legislature out of 50, and in 2005, he was ranked the 31st out of 49. The 2007 rankings will be released next summer.

Smith has complained that Democratic leaders have blocked action on some of his bills, especially a bill to put a constitutional ban on gay marriage to a state referendum.

"Instead of debating the merits of my proposal, the Senate Democratic leadership sent it to die in a committee that doesn't meet," he wrote in his autobiography. "That's not how democracy should work." 

How effective was Richard Moore in the legislature?

The state treasurer does not have as long of a legislative resume as his rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue.

As a one-term state representative, he did not have much time to build up power.

Moore was ranked the 40th most effective of 118 state representatives in his sole term from 1992 to 1993 in the biannual survey by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.

He stepped down to run for Congress in 1994.

How effective was Beverly Perdue in the legislature?

One measure is the biannual effectiveness ranking by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, which has been ranking legislators since 1977.

Of the five gubernatorial candidates, the lieutenant governor has the longest legislative resume, having served two terms in the state House and four terms in the state Senate.

In that time, her ranking shot from 70 in the House her freshman year to sixth most effective in the Senate in 1999, the year before she was elected lieutenant governor.

During her last three terms in the Senate, she was within the top six.

Her ranking was boosted by her role as co-chairwoman of the Senate's powerful Appropriations committee from 1995 to 2000.

Full results after the jump.

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