Gov. Mike Easley says it's his job to be nice, and Dome can prove it.

When N.C. Board of Transportation member Louis Sewell resigned in September after the N&O reported that he had worked to bring state dollars to two transportation projects near property he or his son co-owned, Easley chided Sewell in a statement to the press, Dan Kane reports.

"He should have recused himself at the Board level with these projects as he did at the local level," Easley said. "Otherwise he has been an active board member and provided good service to the state of North Carolina."

But his letter to Sewell — an Easley fundraiser from Jacksonville — makes no mention of any missteps.

"Thank you for notifying me of your resignation as a member of the Board of Transportation effective immediately," Easley wrote. "On behalf of the citizens of North Carolina, I want to extend our gratitude for your leadership to our great state.

"We are fortunate in North Carolina to have so many citizens who are willing to offer their time and talent in service to our state."

Senate leader Marc Basnight said he has told Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue that Transportation Board member Lanny Wilson would be a good pick for transportation secretary.

Wilson would be no stranger to Perdue. He is one of a handful of board members who were also fundraisers for her gubernatorial campaign. Two other transportation board members who raised money for Perdue resigned during the campaign. Thomas Betts pressured a city official to raise money for Perdue and Louis Sewell steered roadwork to commercial properties in Jacksonville that he or his son co-owned.

Perdue pledged to use executive orders to take much of the specific road-building decisions away from transportation board members, who are appointed by the governor.

Basnight said that Wilson's fundraising activities wouldn't raise any problems with him running the transportation department.

"I wish she would appoint him. I asked her to," Basnight told reporters Thursday. "I think Lanny would be outstanding.

"He never wants anything for himself. Never has. He's a fundraiser because he cares. And there's not a governor in this country that I'm aware of who will not appoint people who raise money for them," Basnight said. "I would not shy from it. Now she may well do that. She never did listen to me."

Efforts to reach Wilson Thursday afternoon failed. A message to a Perdue spokesman was not immediately returned.

More reasons for Basnight's support and why he wouldn't change the board after the jump.

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Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign is no longer airing a commercial that has drawn national attention that ties her opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan to Boston fundraiser hosted by an organizer of the Godless Americans PAC.

Dole spokesman Dan McLagan said the campaign began taking it off the air on Friday although it still aired on a few stations on Saturday. In its place, the Dole campaign is airing a second TV commercial that deals with the same Boston fundraiser, but in a less strident way, Rob Christensen reports.

McLagan said the decision to stop airing the ad was not related to the criticism it has received not only from Democrats, but from some Repubublican conservatives as well. Hagan has called the ad "despicable."

The Dole ad decided to replace the ad with a second one after Hagan ran a TV commercial sharply criticizing the original. The original ad began airing Tuesday.

"We went to the second version of it," he said. "We knew there were would be push back on (the first ad)."

Meanwhile, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was in Raleigh Saturday night where she attended a fund raiser for Hagan. The fundraiser was held at the home former ambasasdor Jeanette Hyde.

Update: McLagan said the ad aired between Tuesday afternoon and was still running Friday. He said that it was run enough times to be seen between eight and 10 times by every North Carolinian, or 800 to 1,000 points in industry parlance.

"We didn't pull the ad any more than we pulled any other ad that we've run that's reached saturation," he said.

He said that the campaign planned the new ad all along and was waiting for Hagan's response to air the second ad. The new ad buy was made mid-Friday.

"We had planned to wait for her response and then respond," he said.

Kay Hagan cites her faith in a new ad.

Responding to a recent ad by Sen. Elizabeth Dole criticizing her for attending a fundraiser hosted by an atheist, the Democratic Senate candidate called it offensive and an attack on her Christian faith.

"She even faked my voice in her TV ad to make you think I don't believe in God," Hagan says in the ad, released today. "Well, I believe in God. I taught Sunday school. My faith guides my life, and Senator Dole knows it."

The ad ends with a woman's voice saying "There is no God" as an image of Hagan is shown. The woman speaking is actually Ellen Johnson, executive director of the Godless Americans PAC, which advocates for atheists and secular humanists.

Hagan attended a fundraiser in September hosted by Woody Kaplan, a founder of the political action committee.

Hagan ends the ad by saying her campaign is about fixing the economy and — referencing the Ninth Commandment — "not bearing false witness against fellow Christians."

Hagan is an elder in the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro.

After the jump, the script.

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A new ad from the campaign of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole criticizes Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan for attending a fundraiser hosted by members of an atheist group.

What the ad says: The ad shows images of Dole and Hagan. Dole: "I'm Elizabeth Dole and I approve this message." Announcer: "A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser in Kay Hagan's honor." A clip of Godless Americans PAC executive director Ellen Johnson on MSNBC: "There is no God to rely on." Another Johnson clip: "There was no Jesus." A clip of Bill O'Reilly on Fox News: "But taking ‘under God’ out of the Pledge of Allegiance — you're down with that." Godless Americans PAC member David Silverman: "We're down with that." O'Reilly: "'In God We Trust' — are you going to whip that off the money?" Silverman: "Yeah, we would." Announcer: "Godless Americans and Kay Hagan. She hid from cameras. Took godless money. What did Hagan promise in return?" The ad then shows an image of Hagan as an unidentified voice says "There is no God!"

The background: On Sept. 15, Hagan attended a fundraiser in Boston hosted by author Wendy Kaminer and her husband, Woody Kaplan.

Both are leaders of the Secular Coalition of America, which advocates for atheists and humanists in public policy. Kaplan also sits on the advisory board of the Godless Americans political action committee, which advocates for non-believers.

It is not clear that Kaminer is a leader of the PAC.

Kaplan was listed as one of ten chairs of the Hagan fundraiser, along with Sen. John Kerry, former Austrian ambassador Swanee Hunt and several other Boston-area businesspeople. Another 25 people were listed as hosts.

The fundraiser was advertised on the Democratic Web site ActBlue in August. After Dole criticized Hagan over the fundraiser in late August, Kaminer and Kaplan’s names were removed from the invitation on ActBlue.

The Godless Americans PAC Web site says that it supports candidates who are atheists and supports the separation of religion and government, including a "Godless pledge."

The news clips are of other members of the Godless Americans PAC on MSNBC's "Scarborough Country" in 2004 and 2005 and Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" in 2004. The unidentified woman’s voice at the end is Johnson's from a Washington rally in 2002.

Is the ad accurate? It is true that Hagan attended the fundraiser in question, but the ad is misleading in several ways. The fundraiser was not a secret. The people shown in the news clips were not involved with the fundraiser. And some viewers might be led to believe that the unidentified female voice  at the end of the ad is Hagan's.

— Barbara Barrett and Ryan Teague Beckwith

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is holding a fundraiser tonight.

The Lillington Democrat will meet with supporters at 5:30 p.m. at The Mint, a lavish, city-subsidized restaurant on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh.

The Mint's slogan — "A restaurant so grand they keep it in a vault." — is printed on the invitations.

Tickets to the event range from $100 for a guest to $2,300 for a gold sponsorship. 

The reception is hosted by Etheridge's wife, Faye.

Hat Tip: Sunlight Foundation 

A robocall criticizes Barack Obama for "putting Hollywood above America."

The automated call from Republican presidential candidate John McCain and the Republican National Committee says that Obama spent more time at a Hollywood fundraiser than he did meeting with economic advisers.

"On the very day our elected leaders gathered in Washington to deal with the financial crisis, Barack Obama spent just 20 minutes with economic advisers, but hours at a celebrity Hollywood fundraiser," a man says on the recording.

The call appears to be referring to a Sept. 17 fundraiser attended by Barbra Streisand, Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg that raised an estimated $9 million for his campaign and the Democratic Party. 

Update: U.S. Rep. David Price said that singling out one day during the two weeks of discussion in Congress is not a fair way to gauge Obama's involvement. 

After the jump, the script.

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First Lady Laura Bush is in Raleigh for a fund raiser this afternoon for Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The tea will be held at the Inside-the-Beltline home of North Hills developer John Kane, who in June hosted a fund raiser featuring President Bush to benefit GOP gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory, Rob Christensen reports. 

The private event is being held beneath the radar. There was no announcement from the Dole campaign that the fund raiser was being held.

Earlier this year, the First Lady also attended a fund raiser for Dole in Asheville.

The N.C. Republican Party is linking Kay Hagan to the Godless Americans PAC.

A mailer from the party authorized by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign notes that Hagan appeared at a Sept. 15 fundraiser hosted by author Wendy Kaminer and Woody Kaplan.

Both are leaders of the Secular Coalition of America, which advocates for atheists and humanists in public policy. Kaplan also sits on the advisory board of the Godless Americans political action committee, which advocates for nonbelievers.

"Godless Americans PAC wants to remove 'Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance," the mailer says. "And now, they want Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate."

Inside, it says the PAC supports political candidates who are atheists, wants to "force the Boy Scouts to accept atheists and homosexuals as troop leaders," and seeks to "remove any reference to God in the public arena, including eliminating the Christmas holiday."

Last week, Pat McCrory argued that Beverly Perdue should return campaign donations raised by a Board of Transportation member who steered public money to road improvements near properties he or a son co-owned.

He ended the week by attending a fundraiser on Emerald Isle that pulled in more than $100,000 — half from Tommy Pollard, a former transportation board member from Jacksonville who did the same thing 20 years ago.

McCrory's campaign said they will not return the $50,000.

"It's a bogus story to compare someone who is -- as a volunteer citizen of the state of North Carolina with no power — out raising money, compared to someone who is sitting on the Board of Transportation and is using that position to raise money," Jack Hawke, McCrory's campaign strategist, said Wednesday.

He added, "What happened 25 years ago has nothing to do with what's happening today."

In 1989, the State Bureau of Investigation probed whether Pollard violated state law by pushing for the installation of 10 traffic lights at an intersection where he owned property. It found no violation, but the then attorney general said the law needed to be changed. (N&O)