U.S. Sen. Richard Burr said that John McCain will win on the issues.

The Winston-Salem Republican promoted his Senate colleague on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" show on Friday, saying he is a "known entity by the American people."

"They know his background as a war here hero, as a prisoner of war. He's got a solid foundation and more importantly, he's got a track record that the American people have endorsed over and over again," he said.

Asked about Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Burr noted his own childhood as the son of a Presbyterian minister.

"It would be disingenuous to suggest that my dad didn't have an influence on me but I'm not sure that that's an element of my election or my re-election," he said.

Still, he stopped short of openly criticizing Obama. 

"That's an issue that the American people are going to have to sort out on their own," he said. 

CNN says North Carolina voters were split on Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The cable news network reports that its exit poll of voters today showed that 50 percent thought Wright's views were not important, while 48 percent thought they were important.

Those who thought they were important tended to vote for Hillary Clinton, while those who thought they weren't voted for Barack Obama.

In addition, the network said that voters who go to church regularly tended to think that Wright's views were more important. 

Dome loved Choose-Your-Own Adventure books as a child.

We like to think of tonight's Democratic primary battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton along the same lines. Here's our take on the possibilities:

If Clinton wins Indiana and Obama North Carolina:

Nothing changes. Both candidates were expected to win those states, both will claim victory in their own ways, and the national press moves on to West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon. Clinton is still an outside chance for the nomination.

If Clinton wins Indiana and North Carolina:

A game-changer. Clinton argues she is the only candidate who is electable, while some superdelegates begin to worry that the damage from Rev. Jeremiah Wright, etc., is too great. Obama is red-faced before thousands at Reynolds Coliseum.

If Obama wins Indiana and North Carolina:

Less of a game-changer. Obama argues he has won over the elusive blue-collar vote in a state favored for Clinton while hanging on to college students and black voters. Clinton rebuts that Indiana has not gone for a Democrat since 1964 so it doesn't really count.

If Obama wins Indiana and Clinton North Carolina:

Mass confusion. Both campaigns charter last-minute flights to the other state. Dan Rather comes out of retirement to coin a metaphor for the situation involving corn cakes and griddles but no one understands what he's talking about.

If Mike Gravel wins anywhere:

Hysteria. Reporters wander around in a daze. Pollsters jump out second-story windows. Bloggers say they saw it coming all along. Plagues of locusts swarm the earth. A third of Democratic voters turn red. Mike Munger reveals he is the anti-Christ.

Gov. Mike Easley said the Rev. Jeremiah Wright will not be an issue for North Carolina voters. 

Easley appeared on Wolf Blitzer's CNN Late Edition with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Easley supports Hillary Clinton. Richardson supports Barack Obama. Blitzer asked Easley about Wright, Obama's controversial former pastor, according to a transcript of the show.

EASLEY: It's not going to be an issue in North Carolina in the primary. We don't take that race state. We know the Republicans down here, maybe you don't know that Republicans are running ads on that already and trying to -- some are trying to tie it to our Democrats running for governor to replace me. But it will be an issue in the fall if he's the nominee. But it's not going to be in this primary. And Senator Clinton has not tried to make any political gain out of it. I admire her character for that.

The most important thing, I think, is that Senator Obama finally did what he had to do. He has two competing interests here. He's got a spiritual adviser and friend for 20 years on one hand. On the other hand, he's got a man who said some things that he just cannot condone, needed to denounce.

Those are the kind of tough decisions you have to make in politics and in executive positions. I think he made the right one this week. But it's not going to -- it's not going to be an issue.

The only thing I want people to understand is that the African- American churches in North Carolina, this is not emblematic of that. They are -- they're welcoming, they're open, they're uplifting. It's based on scripture. It's about forgiving God, a good god and I don't want people across the country to get the wrong idea about the African-American churches.

Jimmy Carter thinks the Democrats could carry North Carolina in 2008.

The former president, who was the last Democratic candidate to win the state's presidential contest in 1976, said in a phone interview today that he thinks the party has a shot this year again, Peggy Lim reports.

"I think we have a good chance to carry the Southern states," he said.

A supporter of Barack Obama, he also said that he did not think that race would cut against the Democratic nominee this time around.

"The race issue — it's still important, but for a lot of people it's fading away," he said.

Carter argued that the connections between Obama and his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, have been oversold.

"It's been greatly exaggerated on CNN and in news coverage," he said. "I think in a week or two, it's going to fade away."

Clarification: Carter has not officially endorsed Obama, although he has made favorable comments about him. 

Barack Obama is losing ground in North Carolina.

The Democratic presidential candidate was once figured to do well here, but three recent public opinion polls show Hillary Clinton closing the gap.

Raleigh's Public Policy Polling found his one-time lead of 25 points had decreased to 12. A SurveyUSA poll shows him ahead by 5, and Rasmussen Reports has his lead at 14.

Most of the loss has been among white voters, which voters attribute to the recent flare-up over Rev. Jeremiah Wright. 

"The more Obama becomes a black candidate or the candidate of blacks, the more support that we see falling off among some segments of the white population," said Duke University politics professor Kerry Haynie.

Ace Smith, Clinton's state director, said she still has an uphill battle. (N&O) 

A conservative blogger has called Richard Moore's radio ad "race-baiting."

Tar Heel native Mary Katharine Ham, who blogs on the national site Town Hall, writes that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate's barber-shop ad shows the North Carolina Republican Party "what a real race-baiting ad looks like."

"Moore's new radio ad takes place in a barber shop, and comes complete with exaggerated dialects," she writes, noting that Moore condemned the N.C. GOP's ad linking presidential candidate Barack Obama to Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

"I wonder if Obama will call on Moore to stop running it. Ha. Enjoy playing the, 'Imagine if a Republican ran this ad' game."

The state Republican Party e-mailed a link to the column to reporters this afternoon. 

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama denounces remarks by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, in Winston-Salem today.

Barack Obama has denounced his former pastor.

In comments to reporters at Winston-Salem, the Democratic presidential candidate said that he was outraged by comments of his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama said that Wright's comments did not accurately portray the black church, and he was angered by suggestions that the U.S. government was behind the AIDS epidemic.

"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday," he said.

He also said that Wright's comments were fueling the divisiveness that he hoped to move beyond with his campaign.

At a meeting of the National Press Club Monday, Wright said that criticism of his sermons was an attack on the black church, accused the United States of terrorism and praised Louis Farrakhan.

Obama said he gave Wright the benefit of the doubt after previous controversial remarks surfaced, but he would not defend his recent remarks.

"All it was was a bunch of rants," he said. 

The controversial state GOP ad featuring the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is scheduled to begin airing Tuesday, according to state Republican officials.

Several stations have agreed to run the ad including WECT, WCTI, WLOS, and WXII, according to Brent Woodcox, the GOP spokesman, reports Rob Christensen.

But several other stations have declined to run the commercial including WRAL, WSOC and WBT.

Woodcox said the ad has been successful in raising money for the party. The ad has raised between $10,000 and $20,000, which will help pay for airing the commercials.

The ad includes film footage of some of the provocative remarks by Wright, who is the former pastor of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

And it ties Democratic gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore to Obama and by implication to Wright.