U.S. Sens. Kay Hagan and Richard Burr said they want to see North Carolinians on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

President Barack Obama nominated Judges James Wynn and Albert Diaz to the court, which serves North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. North Carolina has had only six judges serve on the 15-judge panel since it was established in 1801, according to Hagan's office.

Judge Allyson Duncan is the only North Carolinian on the bench. The late Sen. Jesse Helms blocked Wynn's 1999 nomination to the court.

"Today’s announcement is a victory for North Carolina," Hagan said in a statement. "For too long partisan bickering and obstructionism on both sides of the aisle have unnecessarily derailed the nominations of qualified North Carolinians."

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, whose opposition or support could prove pivotal to the confirmation of the nominees, said this morning he "looks forward to working with" Diaz and Wynn during the confirmation process.

"Since coming to the Senate, I have fought for greater representation for North Carolina on the United States Court of Appeals, and I plan to continue that fight for the people of North Carolina," he said.

The senators' complete statements after the jump.

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Rock star Bono met with Dot Helms, the widow of former Sen. Jesse Helms, before Saturday night's U2 concert in Raleigh, to express his appreciation for the late senator's work to combat AIDS in Africa.

The two men had formed an unlikely alliance and friendship during Helms' final years in the Senate, and Bono asked for a chance to meet with Dot Helms during his Raleigh concert, Rob Christensen reports.

At a back stage meeting, Bono greeted Dot Helms warmly and said it was because of "Jesse" that more than 3 million children are alive and on anti-retroviral drugs today in Africa, according to Jimmy Broughton, Helms' former chief of staff, who accompanied Dot Helms.

Dot Helms did not stay for the concert, but she was accompanied by several of her grandchildren who did.

Dot Helms was deeply touched and delighted to see Bono, according to Broughton, and said she hoped other senators were helping him with his efforts for global AIDS relief.

At the U2 concert this weekend the crowd would have gone wild for just about everything Bono said or sang.

Which made it all the more awkward when Bono got to his inevitable sermonizing, said several of those who caught the show. He was talking about his "One" project, which works against poverty and disease, particularly in Africa. Bono praised North Carolina for having two prominent politicians who have worked hard for that cause. On the right, he said, was the late Sen. Jesse Helms. (Bono of course had developed an understanding with Helms).

And on the left, was John Edwards.

That's when it got uncomfortable.

"I've never experienced an awkward silence at a rock concert before," writes Joe Gregorio on his blog, echoing what Dome has heard from others.

LOW KEY BIRTHDAY: The Highway Patrol turns 80 this year and it may be a good year for a quiet celebration. Another misconduct allegation involving sex has been exposed and the patrol is not having a lot of success reversing a culture in which some troopers expected on-duty escapades as an unofficial fringe benefit. Patrol leaders asked employees to try to knock it off in honor of the patrol's anniversary.

CONS BEATING PROS: Republicans dug in on their opposition to Democratic health care reforms with U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick saying that a Democrat health care system might not have caught her breast cancer in time. Sen. Richard Burr said the plan would just shift the cost of the health care system to taxpayers. On the other side, Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan isn't ready to pick a reform plan, although she's sure one is needed.

WE'RE SAVED: A television advertisement funded by a conservative group catalogues corruption scandals involving Democrats. The group proclaims that it's here to rescue America from "radical socialism." A 30-second spot will probably just about do it.

IN OTHER NEWS: President Bill Clinton wasn't rattled by Sen. Jesse Helms inflammatory statements. Sen. Joe Lieberman is watering down an energy bill in an effort to get Republicans, including Burr, on board. State Rep. Ty Harrell has resigned his seat over questions about his campaign finance reports.

Former President Bill Clinton was not too upset about Sen. Jesse Helms' comments suggesting he was unfit to be commander in chief or that it might not be safe for him to travel to a North Carolina military base, according to a new book called "The Clinton Tapes."

The book, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Taylor Branch, is a collection of private taped conversations he had with Clinton during the White House years, that he agreed not to publish until years later. Clinton and Branch are long-time friends, Rob Christensen reports.

"For different reasons" Branch writes, "the president said he muted his response to a televised attack from Senator Jesse Helms, who called Clinton 'unfit' to command the armed forces. Helms was a significant national figure — the incoming chair of the Foreign Relations Committee — and to denounce him from the White House would magnify conduct suited to a banana republic."

"Clinton told me he appreciated General [John] Shalikashvili of the Joint Chiefs, along with many leading newspapers, for statements of support, but Helms defiantly escalated the rhetorical assault. He warned that President Clinton would not be safe on any military base in North Carolina."

"The president shrugged off the ominous barb, even professing a touch of fondness for 'ol Jesse.' Incredulous, I pressed him about false bravado. Surely, Helms violated some taboo in civil-military relations, if not basic decorum. His veiled threat, I said, delivered on the anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination, could be construed as incitement to crackpots or even military contempt, impervious to political balance or constitutional norms. He said insult was their program, and Helms was just more honest than his fellow Republicans."

I once shared an elevator with Jesse Helms and Ted Kennedy.

It happened years ago when I was the Washington correspondent for The News & Observer. A big part of my job was keeping tabs on Helms, who made plenty of headlines.

One of the best ways for regional reporters in D.C. to get access to senators was to hang out in a lobby off the Senate chamber and catch them as they returned to their office. I had done that with Helms one day when he invited me to join him in one of the elevators reserved for senators so we could continue our interview.

The only other person in the elevator was Kennedy.

As Rob Christensen points out, Helms and Kennedy were not pals. But, at least for a few minutes, they were able to put aside their differences and engage in some friendly small talk.

Helms introduced me to Kennedy, and the three of us discussed how we had celebrated the recent Mother's Day holiday.

There was nothing particularly revealing about it - just a couple of fierce political foes swapping stories about their moms.

North Carolina voters say that Jesse Helms is their favorite Senator. John Edwards, whose reputation has been better, was the least popular, according to a poll by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

PPP asked more than 750 state residents to rate the state's last seven U.S. Senators. When asked for their favorite, 35 percent named Helms, the only Senator to be re-elected in more than 40 years. Edwards was picked by 19 percent and Terry Sanford by 16 percent.

But when the poll asked for which Senator voters had the least favorable opinion of, 41 percent named Edwards, a Democrat. Helms, a Republican, was named by 29 percent. Predictably, Helms was less popular with voters who identified as liberal or Democrats. 

Sanford, a Democrat, had the lowest negative rating.

"You could make an argument from the overall numbers that Sanford is actually the most positively remembered of this group," said PPP's Tom Jensen.

Current Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan were near the bottom of both questions. Burr was the favorite of 4 percent and the least favorite of 3 percent. Hagan was the favorite of 9 percent and the least favorite of 7 percent. 

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. 

N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Jim Wynn has been the subject of a federal background check, a sign that he may be nominated for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.

The FBI has been conducting a background investigation of Wynn, questioning people around the court houses in Raleigh, Rob Christensen reports.

"I’ve been interviewed by the FBI who didn’t tell me for what," said federal Magistrate Judge William W. Webb. "I know the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington has been calling people about him."

Wynn was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1999 and 2001 for the 4th Circuit but he was never confirmed by the Senate, largely because of opposition by then Sen. Jesse Helms.

President Barack Obama has not indicated who he would nominate. But Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan is pushing hard for another North Carolinian on the 4th Circuit and there has considerable speculation that Wynn is one of the candidates she is pushing.

He is also being championed by Congressman G.K. Butterfield, his former law partner, who is a close Obama ally.