Sen.-elect Kay Hagan is getting to know Washington.

The Greensboro Democrat said she doesn't know yet which wooden desk she'll use in the Senate chamber, but she knows it'll be in the back right — a rather crowded area for Democrats these days.

During a tour, she looked for the desk belonging to her uncle, former Florida Sen. Lawton Chiles. It's not uncommon for such desks to be handed down, as Sen. Elizabeth Dole used the desk that belonged to her husband, Bob.

In several days of orientation, Hagan saw the electoral college counts from the disputed Jefferson-Burr race, learned about ethics rules and looked for a house to rent or buy near the Capitol.

She said she plans to keep Dole's office in Raleigh open and may hire some of her state staff as well. (N&O) 

Sen.-elect Kay Hagan has some reading to do.

While in Washington for three days of training this week, the Greensboro Democrat was given a list by the chief clerk of the Senate of good reading for new senators.

Though a staffer volunteered to get all the books on the two-page list, Hagan demurred, saying she wouldn't have time to read them all yet. But she said she intends to work her way through a number of books on the list eventually.

One book that she already has was given to her by a fellow senator.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, gave Hagan a copy of "Nine and Counting," a 2000 book about the then-nine women serving in the U.S. Senate.

"That would be airplane reading," joked Hagan. 

Of course, the book might be due for a new edition. With Hagan taking Sen. Elizabeth Dole's place and Sen.-elect Jeanne Shaheen taking office, the number of female senators will soon be up to 17. 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's office also is receiving calls today about the potential auto bailout.

Spokesman Wes Clymer said the calls — a couple hundred so far — are about evenly divided between supporters and opponents. The numbers, he said, are nothing like the thousands of calls that poured into the office in opposition to the $700 billion bailout in September, Barb Barrett reports.

Dole, a Salisbury Republican, opposed the bailout in September and told auto executives in a hearing Tuesday that she remains very skeptical about their request as well.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole was back on Capitol Hill today for the lame-duck session going on this week.

The Salisbury Republican attended the weekly GOP luncheon in the U.S. Capitol with colleagues, walking past swarms of reporters on her way inside, Barb Barrett reports. (Her husband, former Sen. Bob Dole, also attended, though he did not walk in with her.)

Later, in an hours-long Senate Banking hearing, Dole told Detroit auto executives of her skepticism about lending billions of federal taxdollars to bail them out of trouble.

Dole, who lost re-election to Democratic challenger Kay Hagan, opposed the $700 billion federal bailout approved in September. She said she doesn’t think much has come of it so far.

"Like so many North Carolinians I've heard from, I continue to be very skeptical of this newly enacted law is turning out to be the 'blank check' that so many of us feared," Dole said in her opening statement.

She added later: "Without fundamental changes in the automotive industry, we'd just be throwing taxpayers' dollars at firms that will inevitably go under."

Jerry Meek, who for the last four years has presided over a resurgent Democratic Party, said he plans to step down at the end of his term in January as party chairman.

"I have enjoyed the last four years," Meek said. "It's unlikely I could do anything in six years that I didn't do in four."

Meek said the state Democratic Executive Committee would meet on January 31st to choose a new party chief. Typically, the party chair is chosen by the governor, in this case Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, Rob Christensen reports.

But Meek, who was elected without the support of Gov. Mike Easley, said he thought it was likely that party leaders would want to choose their own leader.

"They feel more empowered than in the past," Meek said. "Even though Governor Perdue is well liked among the party leadership, I doubt we will ever return to where one person handpicks the party chair."

More after the jump.

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Rep. Jim Harrell lost his bid for re-election but may keep a Raleigh work address. He's in the mix for an assistant secretary's post at the Department of Commerce.

Harrell, a Surry County Democrat, said the transition team for Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has not interviewed him, but he sidestepped whether he was making a pitch for the job.

"I'm always looking for a way to help North Carolina's economic development," said Harrell, a three-term lawmaker who was defeated by Republican Sarah Stevens in the swing district.

As a legislator he helped push legislation creating incentives for movie production in the state and another bill that updated other tax incentives for new businesses.

Harrell was touted as a likely candidate for lieutenant governor three years ago, but his role as a loyal ally to then-House Speaker Jim Black likely fouled that up. A federal grand jury called Harrell as a witness during the investigation that led to Black's plea and imprisonment on curruption charges.

Harrell also received widespread snickering over his support for the efforts to create the Sparta Teapot Museum in his district. Black earmarked $400,000 in state money for the project, which would house a famous collection from a California benefactor. U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole and U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, all Republicans, secured $500,000 in federal funds for the museum.

Plans have since been scaled back and shifted away from housing the entire teapot collection.

John Drescher says both Senate candidates took cheap shots.

In his weekly column, the N&O editor said that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's "godless" ad was the "national cheap shot of the year," but he added that Democrat Kay Hagan was also graceless in her acceptance speech:

In what had to be the tackiest victory speech ever, Hagan took three swipes at Dole in less than 13 minutes. She said:

* She'd given her ruby-red shoes away (so Dole could click her heels and go home to Kansas).

* When she entered the race, the press and politicians were ready to hand Dole the keys to her office for another six years. "But it's not her office," she said twice.

* "It's certainly nice to have a husband who can vote for me" — a reference to Dole's husband, Bob Dole, who is from Kansas.

A Hagan spokeswoman said the comments weren't attacks on Dole.

"If those weren't digs, I am Jesse Helms," he writes.  

Is U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler gearing up for 2010?

The Waynesville Democrat told the Hendersonville Times-News that he hasn't ruled out running against Sen. Richard Burr in two years:

Shuler said he has not ruled out a run for Senate, but wants to focus now on Congress.

"First and foremost, I am going back to Washington and work on the economy," Shuler said. "At this point in time we need to focus on the economy."

The paper notes that the race would pit Shuler, a former star quarterback from the University of Tennessee, against Burr, who played defensive back at Wake Forest University.

It also notes that Shuler said he was approached about taking on Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

'It was my first term, and we decided against it," he told the paper. 

The blogosphere has weighed in on Kay Hagan's decision to drop a lawsuit.

The Democratic senator-elect had sued Sen. Elizabeth Dole for a TV ad that criticized her for attending a fundraiser held by an atheist, but dropped the suit this week.

On Talking About Politics, Republican consultant Carter wrenn says a statement by Hagan's spokeswoman that she wanted to end the suit for the good of North Carolina sounds phony.

"Now, why couldn’t Hagan just say, The election's over. I won. So, what’s the point in the lawsuit?" he writes. "The candor would have been refreshing."

Conservative blogger Dan Gearino says the lawsuit was either "stupid or craven."

"If she truly thought Dole's campaign ad went over the line into slander and defamation, and that the court system should be called upon (or would even be willing) to referee political charges and countercharges, she’s a fool who has no business being in Congress," he writes.

Meantime, J.W. Williamson on Watauga Watch was more stoic.

"Apparently, Liddy's losing the election was punishment enough," he writes.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan this afternoon dismissed her lawsuit against the woman she defeated, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, over an advertisement that Hagan said attacked her personal faith.

Dole, a Republican, had launched an ad in the last week of the campaign tying Hagan to a political action group called "Godless Americans" that promotes the separation of church and state. The advertisement ended with a photo of Hagan and another woman’s voice saying, "There is no God."

Hagan, a Democrat, attended a fundraiser in August at the Boston home of a couple who is active in the group. The fundraiser also was hosted by U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Dole's campaign staff later said the advertisement was meant to highlight Hagan's judgement.

Hagan, an elder in her Presbyterian church, responded with her own ad. She accused Dole of attacking her Christian faith, and she filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court.

She dismissed that suit today.

Spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan said Hagan wanted to focus on solving problems and working across party lines.

"This lawsuit would just continue the focus on a very personal and negative attack against Kay, instead of focusing on the people of North Carolina," Flanagan said in a prepared statement. "We need leadership now more than ever, and Kay is prepared to get down to work with (Republican Sen.) Richard Burr and the rest of the North Carolina delegation and help the people of this state."