A national political group built on President Barack Obama’s campaign is coming to North Carolina.

Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee, is expected to announce Tuesday the hire of two staffers in Raleigh, Barb Barrett reports. The group will conduct what it calls "listening tours" around the state in coming weeks, focusing on education, energy and health care. The group hopes to build support for Obama’s agenda.

The group’s inaugural N.C. state director, Lindsay Siler, is a former field director and public policy director for Planned Parenthood in North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia. She also worked for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Iowa.

The new field director, Gregory Jackson, led the group D.C. for Obama, which sent volunteers to key states during the presidential campaign.

Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole may want to rethink her new diet.

At a lecture in Kansas Sunday, the former North Carolina senator said that she and her husband Bob would be starting the NutriSystem diet.

Until recently, at least, the diet planners have leaned Democratic, according to a search of data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The company's top officers have donated $10,650 to Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as well as Pennsylvania Congressmen Joe Sestak and Patrick Murphy.

Between 2006 and 2008, former chief executive officer Mike Hagan, former vice president Bryan Janeczko and former chief financial officer James Brown gave between $250 and $2,300. Hagan also donated $1,000 to the International Franchise Association, an industry group.

Current CFO David Clark, meantime, gave $500 to the Republican National Committee.

No donations could be found for the other current executives.

Former House Speaker Dan Blue of Raleigh has been named to a 37-member commission that will examine the Democratic Party's rules for the 2012 presidential nominating and delegate selection process.

Blue, a state lawmaker and attorney, was appointed to the commission by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the national Democratic party chairman, Rob Christensen reports.

Kaine wants the commission to examine three issues: changing the window of time during which primaries and caucuses can be held, reducing the number of super delegates, and improving the caucus system.

The Democrats last year survived a prolonged primary fight between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The long competition resulted in an intense courtship for the support of the super delegates — the elected and party leaders — who potentially could have decided a close contest at the national convention.

The co-chairs of the Democratic Change Commission are South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

North Carolina has played an important role in the past in helping shape the presidential primary system. In the early 1980s, Gov. Jim Hunt headed a commission that created the super delegates. The chief staff person on the committee was Congressman David Price.

Price also co-chaired the Democrats' 2008 presidential nominating commission. Raleigh attorney Ed Turlington served on the commission.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr wouldn't mind watching basketball with Barack Obama.

The Winston-Salem Republican was on Charlotte sports talk show "Primetime with the Packman" this afternoon.

Repeating a question from the Democratic primary last year, host Mark Packer asked if he would rather have dinner with Hillary Clinton or Obama.

"Hillary Clinton in a heartbeat," Burr said. "I've had an opportunity in the last week to have dinner with Barack Obama. I passed on that one."

Obama held a bipartisan "timeout dinner" at the White House last Wednesday with about 180 guests from Congress and his Cabinet as well as staffers and spouses.

Burr said the president is a "straight-up guy," a "tremendous athlete" and "a very disciplined individual," but he disagrees with him on the issues.

"I think what we've seen from the first 60 days is he has an agenda as to where he wants to take America," he said. "I'm not interested in going there."

Packer followed up. What about at the Final Four?

"Sporting event — I'm sitting beside Barack," he said. "No question."

Bill Clinton returns to North Carolina today.

The former president was last seen here standing in the back of a Ford pickup, wrapping up an 11-city barnstorm on behalf of his wife's campaign.

North Carolina turned out to be Hillary's Waterloo. Chastened by Barack Obama's primary wins, Clinton retracted his criticism and promoted Obama.

Now, he returns for a speech at N.C. State University's Millennium Seminar Series.

His address at Reynolds Coliseum today is titled "The Way Forward," and in it, he will "chart the course of America's future after the 2008 election and delve into the effects of new presidential leadership on the nation's important issues," N.C. State's Web site explains.

No tickets are available for the 10:30 a.m. speech, but it will be shown online here. (N&O)

Sen. Kay Hagan and Gov. Beverly Perdue will join Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton and a handful of other high-powered women at a Democratic pro-choice luncheon Sunday in Washington.

The EMILY's List luncheon is among dozens of events going on this holiday weekend to honor the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and a slate of women who favor abortion rights. Tickets for the luncheon, at the Hilton Washington, sold at a range of $150 to $5,000.

The luncheon also features Obama Cabinet nominees Janet Napolitano and Hilda Solis; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who was just elected in New Hampshire.

The political organization works to elect pro-choice Democratic women to office.

EMILY's List was Hagan's No. 2 contributor in her recent campaign, donating nearly $270,000 to her effort to defeat former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The group also supported Perdue, running an ad in last May’s primary campaign touting her record on child predators.

Sen. Kay Hagan has cosponsored her first bill.

The Greensboro Democrat is one of 53 cosponsors of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a bill that would amend the rules under which a person is compensated for discrimination.

The bill arose from the case of Lilly Ledbetter, who discovered that Goodyear Tire Co. had been paying her less than her male colleagues for years. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that Ledbetter did not file her case in time.

The case was a cause celebre during the presidential campaign, with both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supporting the bill and John McCain opposing it.

Ledbetter joined Hagan at a campaign stop in Charlotte in October to criticize then-Sen. Elizabeth Dole for voting against a prior version of the bill.

All but two of the 17 women in the U.S. Senate are also cosponsors. 

During last year's Democratic presidential primary, N.C. Sen. Julia Boseman traveled with Bill Clinton as he stumped for his wife, Hillary. Now the former president is repaying the favor.

Clinton is scheduled to headline a fundraiser this month for the Wilmington Democrat in Raleigh. The same day he'll headline another for U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, Jim Morrill reports.

"It's not everyday the president comes down and throws a fundraiser for you," Boseman said today. "It gives me on start on fundraising for next year."

She might need it.

Through October, she'd spent nearly three-quarters of a million dollars on race she would narrowly win. The Senate Democratic committee helped, giving her $438,000.

Shuler is rumored to be considering a 2010 challenge to Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Spokesman Andrew Whalen said Clinton will help raise money for another House campaign.

"Today," Whalen said, "we're running for re-election to the house."

Former President Bill Clinton will hold a fund raiser in Raleigh later this month for U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler.

Clinton will be in town on January 26th to speak at N.C. State University's Millennium Seminar Series at Reynolds Coliseum, Rob Christensen.

The Clinton visit is widely seen as a thank-you to Gov. Mike Easley, who endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary last year. For his part, Shuler said he would back whoever won his district and endorsed Clinton after the May 6 primary.

First Lady Mary Easley heads the seminar series.

After his morning speech, Clinton will attend a fund raiser for Shuler with ticket prices ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. The location has not yet been decided.

Richard Sullivan says he's not running.

The Democrat fundraiser had contemplated a campaign for state Democratic Party chairman, but he told Dome Tuesday that he had decided against it.

"I just decided that because of current business interests and small children at home that I couldn't do it in a full-time capacity," he said. "I may serve in another capacity."

That leaves 11th District chairman Luke Hyde, vice chair Dannie Montgomery, attorney David Parker and former Senate candidate Jim Neal in the race.

Sullivan rose in politics as a key fund raiser for Rep. Dick Gephardt and then for Bill and Hillary Clinton. He estimated that he raised a half billion dollars for Democratic candidates and causes. 

The state Democratic Executive Committee will meet in Raleigh on Jan. 31 to select among the candidates.

The winner will replace outgoing chairman Jerry Meek.