TO RUN OR NOT TO RUN: For much of the fall, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge has played the role of a political Hamlet as he decides whether to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year.

Etheridge had initially indicated he would not run for the Senate this time, but key Senate leaders prevailed on him to reconsider underscoring the importance of the national parties in Senate races. The Democrat's Senate organization was a crucial player in Kay Hagan's victory over incumbent Elizabeth Dole. (N&O)

GRADES OFF THE MARKET: The Wayne County school system has ordered an end to a fundraiser that allowed parents to buy extra credit for their children. The system says it may take further action. (N&O)

OBAMA MART: The store in Kabul is a taxpayers nightmare. Named after the U.S. president (it was Bush Mart, but Obama Mart is gaining acceptance), the store is chocked full of items that were clearly meant for U.S. soldiers or Marines but are now being sold to Afghans. Military officials say they monitor the stores for sensitive items. (N&O)

CHARGE ON: U.S. Attorney George Holding, saying he believes it is "outrageous" that the state overlooked laws requiring it to release 20 violent offenders with life sentences, said he will look for federal charges that could keep the inmates behind bars. (N&O)

NOT BORED: A year after losing re-election, former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole spends her days working through her foundation and caring for her ailing husband, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. (N&O)

AFFAIR TO REMEMBER? The head of the highway patrol, who is charged with ending a string of sexual misconduct cases involving troopers, had an extra-marital affair in 1987. Commander Randy Glover says he has paid his dues and corrected his 20-year-old mistakes. (N&O)

Former Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has asked supporters to help former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole retire more than $350,000 in campaign debt.

Dole, a Republican, ran up the debt in her unsuccessful attempt to fend off a challenge from Kay Hagan, a Democrat, in a bitterly fought campaign, reports the Atlantic's Politics blog. 

Huckabee's message may be a move to win support of Bob and Elizabeth Dole for a future presidential run. In his plea for help, Huckabee describes the Democratic effort within North Carolina during last year's election.

The Democratic Party spent $12 million to defeat her in North Carolina and special interest groups spent millions more.

The Obama campaign opened 50 field offices with 400 paid staff and 21,000 volunteers, all geared to three weeks of early voting. North Carolina had the biggest increase in voter turnout of any state in the nation, a reflection of the huge amounts of money poured into the state.

I hope you will join me in assisting her with a generous contribution today to retire her debt of $356,043. I believe it would be a travesty if she were left with a debt after all her hard work as a public servant.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge said today that he is giving some thought to running against Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year.

Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, said he has been courted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as a potential candidate, reports Rob Christensen.

“I’m evaluating it,” Etheridge said during a meeting Wednesday with reporters and editors at The News & Observer.

Etheridge said he met recently with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and had discussions with family members and a few key supporters. Etheridge said he hoped to make a decision by September.

The backing of the DSCC is important because Senate races have become nationalized. The DSCC spent at least $10 million on behalf of Democrat Kay Hagan last year, playing a pivotal role in her defeat of Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Etheridge said it was a particularly difficult decision because he is the first Tar Heel in 56 years to serve as a member of the influential House Ways and Means Committee.

Read more after the jump.

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Two things are certain about the Senate race next year.

Democrats think they can beat Sen. Richard Burr. And party faithful seem worried about the candidate roster. Over the weekend, articles in The American Spectator and The Hill ruminated on the would-be or wouldn't-be candidates.

The Spectator article dismissed Cal Cunningham and Kenneth Lewis as "no-name lawyers." The piece focused on why top-tier candidates, including Attorney General Roy Cooper, decided not to run.

So why did Cooper brush aside a Senate bid? We'll never know for sure, but two possibilities come to mind. One is the heat Cooper has taken from Republicans, which has trickled into the wider electorate, for going soft on former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley. Easley is under state and federal investigation for alleged ethics violations and campaign finance malfeasance.

A second reason is a defamation lawsuit filed against Cooper nine years ago. The suit alleges that Cooper defamed his Republican challenger during a race for attorney general by airing a misleading television ad. A superior court judge recently denied Cooper's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to go to trial.

The Hill piece wonders whether Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who is clearly trying to generate buzz for a run, could follow in the steps of Kay Hagan, who was seen as a long-shot candidate who went on to defeat Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Still, thanks to the decisions of state Attorney General Roy Cooper and a few members of the state’s congressional delegation to pass on the race, Marshall appears next in line.

Nobody is getting terribly excited about her candidacy, but nobody was terribly excited two years ago either, after a similar cast of characters passed on a challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Democratic commentator Barlow Herget raises the question whether Sen. Kay Hagan has shown the proper amount of loyalty to the Democratic agenda in Washington.

Herget, a former Raleigh City Councilman who has his own Internet radio program, notes that Hagan expressed reservations about President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, has shown "tepid support" for Obama’ health care plan, and has not replaced U.S. Attorney George Holding, who has been investigating former Gov. Mike Easley and former Sen. John Edwards, both Democrat, Rob Christensen reports.

Herget quotes an unnamed "seasoned Democratic consultant" as saying "If I had wanted another Republican in Washington, I would have voted for one."

He notes that Hagan was helped in her victory last November over Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole by a strong turnout by Obama supporters and received millions of dollars in campaign help from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Things are looking a little less bleak for Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr in North Carolina.

But the numbers still don't look good.

Burr's approval rating among North Carolina voters has risen from a dismal 34 percent to 36 percent, according to the latest poll by Public Policy Polling. His disapproval rating is 29 percent, an improvement from 35 percent in PPP's previous poll.

But PPP notes that Burr's numbers are still worse than Elizabeth Dole's were at a comparable point two years ago. Dole had a 46 percent approval rating, but was later defeated by Democrat Kay Hagan.

The latest survey was of 767 North Carolina voters from July 10-12. The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Elizabeth Dole isn't slowing down.

North Carolina's former Republican senator was in Charlotte this morning for a fundraiser for two groups associated with Mike Huckabee, the former and possibly future GOP presidential candidate, Jim Morrill reports.

Dole said she sandwiched the appearance between a morning stop at Charlotte's Loaves & Fishes food bank and afternoon visits to the Charlotte Rescue Mission, Salvation Army and Thompson's Children's Home. She said she supports them all through the Elizabeth Dole Charitable Foundation.

On her way out, Dole, who turns 73 next month, was asked if she's enjoying retirement.

"Not retirement, no," she bristled. "Catching up on my life."

More after the jump.

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* A Facebook group backing Cal Cunningham for Senate now has more members than one for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

* Former Republican Congressional candidate Will Breazeale says he's ready for a rematch against U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, who beat him 68-32 percent.

* Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole joins husband Bob and other VIPs at 65th anniversary of D-Day event in France.

* U.S. Sen. Richard Burr criticizes CNN for report on flavored "smokeless products," receives criticism from liberal blogger. 

APPLE BITES: This week it was all about Jobs — with a lower-case and upper-case J. The same day that Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into law changes to the state's corporate taxes designed to lure Apple, the company founded by Steve Jobs announced it would build a $1 billion data center. Opponents of corporate incentives, meantime, felt more like the biblical Job, suffering yet again.

BURR'S CRUSADE: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr stood up for tobacco in the Senate. The Winston-Salem Republican spent more than four hours on the floor arguing against a bill to allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. He said it would stifle innovation in nicotine delivery systems and hurt the "gold standard" of food and drug oversight. He and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan proposed an alternate bill.

EMPTYING HOUSE? Another state representative is leaving. Rep. Bonner Stiller, a Brunswick County Republican, will step down this month to spend more time with his family. He joins four other legislators this term who've stepped down to accept a gubernatorial appointment (Rep. Linda Coleman) or move to the state Senate (now Sen. Dan Blue) or because they died (Sen. Vernon Malone) or were under investigation (Rep. Cary Allred).

IN OTHER NEWS: An East Carolina University professor will discuss his studies of the vice presidency with Joe Biden. ... Elizabeth Edwards is not interested in running for U.S. Senate, but she will open a furniture store in Chapel Hill. ... Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole will make her first political appearance since losing in November when she introduces one-time GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in Charlotte next week. ... Hagan ran into Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in the ladies' room at the Capitol.