GOING CHILLY: Former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin didn't appreciate having to share a campaign bus with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr when she was stumping the state. Palin is scheduled to appear at Ft. Bragg next week to promote her book, which could make for an awkward moment if Burr shows to get a book signed.

POLITICAL PRENUP: Presidential candidate John Edwards offered to quit his campaign and endorse President Barack Obama in exchange for a guaranteed spot on the ticket. Hillary Clinton got the same offer. This reminds us of a time when Edwards' political value meant more than a cheap joke, such as this one.

LIGHTWEIGHT GOVERNOR: At a women's health conference, Gov. Bev Perdue shared stories about her days as a lawmaker when she would scarf a whole bag of Doritos. On a stage in front of a crowd, Perdue challenged her transportation secretary, Gene Conti, to slim down. Woe to any Perdue cabinet members who still smoke.

IN OTHER NEWS: Former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign manager appeared before a federal grand jury this week. Members of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission are heavy political contributors. An African American artist unveiled a portrait of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Ahead of the South Carolina primary last year, a high-level aide to then-candidate John Edwards made an offer to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

He would quit the race and back whoever agreed to add him to the ticket, Obama's campaign manager writes in a new book. Talking Points Memo calls the revelation a "shocker," but is anyone really surprised? David Plouffe's book has also revealed that Plouffe was the source of the tip that led to coverage of Edwards' $400 haircuts.

But then right at the end of the conversation, the Edwards rep added a new wrinkle: "Just to be clear, we're going to talk to the Clinton people too. That's not where John's heart is, but he is at a point of maximum leverage now. We want to see what each of you is thinking."

My initial reaction was that this was a nonstarter. Of course we wanted Edwards's support and his message was certainly closer in spirit to ours than it was to Hillary's. But political deals like this rarely work: people see right through them.

Plus I couldn't imagine Obama agreeing this far out to lock in his running mate without going through any process or even being certain that we would be the ones making a selection.

Obama's answer was quick and firm: he would cut no deals. If he won, he did not want to be locked in to any personnel matters, and he had little interest in deciding on a vice presidential pick in the heat of the primary campaign.

The Edwards aide later said that Clinton's campaign seemed to want it more, an assertion Plouffe didn't believe. Edwards eventually endorsed Obama.

Hat tip: RTB

GRADE STIMULUS: A Goldsboro middle school was lambasted this week for its plan to award extra test points — enough to raise a letter grade — in exchange for cash contributions for the school. The lesson for students: Hard work, perseverance and positive attitude will be rewarded. And if that doesn't work, a nice crisp $20 couldn't hurt.

CHOPPED LIVER; The race for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Richard Burr got lots of attention this week. Lexington lawyer Cal Cunningham is out. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is going for a new fence-sitting record. Two others are thinking about it. All the buzz about candidates who aren't running can't be flattering to the only two people who are: lawyer Kenneth Lewis and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

SHE'S BACK: Gov. Bev Perdue got a big bump in her job approval, apparently because of her refusal to release violent inmates despite a court ruling. Perdue has been hitting the public events pretty hard and making big announcements. A few more ribbon cuttings and another stand at a jail-house door and Perdue might just be liked again.

IN OTHER NEWS: Sen. Martin Nesbitt appears to have a lock on the job of Senate majority leader...The state's pension fund is beginning to recover from a financial slump...Barack Obama's campaign was the source of the tip that John Edwards got $400 haircuts.

The infamous $400 haircuts that also undercut John Edwards presidential message of reducing poverty started with a tip from the campaign of then-candidate Barack Obama.

Reporters don't like to talk about where they get their stories. But Dome isn't giving away a big secret by revealing that during pitched campaign battle, campaigns will feed bad news about the other guy to reporters.

That's how the nation learned that Edwards, running on a platform of reducing the gap between rich and poor, billed his campaign $400 each for two haircuts.

Politico's Ben Smith wrote a brief item on the haircut which became a big national story and a running joke on late night TV. Smith's brief began with a tip from Obama's campaign, according to a new book by Obama campaign manager David Plouffe. Smith confirms it.

"We did much less of this [opposition research] than other campaigns did," Plouffe writes a bit self-servingly, "but there were times we indulged — it was our researchers who found John Edwards's infamous $400 hair cut expenditures."

It's maddening when people assume political reporting is driven by opposition research when you've actually dug up something yourself, but in this case, I'm in no position to contradict Plouffe's account.

REMEMBER WHEN: Between hazy memories and conflicting stories about repairs to former Gov. Mike Easley's home, the State Board of Elections hearings offered plenty to talk about this week. The hearings gave a glimpse into the type of people who drive big time politics: one Easley supporter said he couldn't remember anything about two $50,000 checks he wrote to the N.C. Democratic Party.

BOUNCE BACK: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina sent a mailer to members urging them to rail against the public option for health insurance. The mailer backfired, leading recipients to lobby for the option. Next time, the insurer might consider using a little reverse psychology.

ALMOST READY: U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat who has been reluctant to stake a position on health care reform, already supported a public option provision similar to the one being advanced in the Senate.

IN OTHER NEWS: Elizabeth Edwards told a Washington-area television station that her marriage to John Edwards could be considered "a great love story." Patricia Gerrick, former chief investment officer for the state pension fund, asked her employees to help with her daughter's homework.

Elizabeth Edwards told a Washington television station that she is focused on living and that her marriage to John Edwards is for life.

Edwards told WJLA-TV that she does not want to give her cancer any more days than it has already taken.

"I hope it's not true but that's the likelihood. Cancer will probably win. Why would I give it anymore days than it may already take? That's the choice I make," she said.

Edwards declined to say much about her husband's affair with a former campaign worker.

She says only that her husband has been supportive and that they are still writing their story.

Said Edwards, "John said, 'Perhaps not the great love story that we hoped, but maybe a great love story nonetheless.' [It's] 'till death do you part -- because that's what I want."

BOOMERANG: As stunts go, the Republican Party's "Conservative Voter Survey" ranks right up there with some of Evel Knievel's work. A wheelbarrow full of surveys was meant to show how many people don't like Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat. Over at Perdue's office, staff members sifted through the surveys and found plenty of irate voters upset with Republicans as well as a campaign contribution that was intended for the Republican Party.

I LOVE YOU, MAN: Republican Sen. Richard Burr's economic development summit in Durham will be remembered as a great moment in political reconciliation. Burr and the man he beat almost six years ago, UNC system President and Democrat Erskine Bowles, traded fawning, appreciative comments about each other. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination next year to challenge Burr will surely be seeing lots of Bowles' comments in TV ads.

PRO, CON: In Washington, Burr decried the stimulus package. In North Carolina, at a fire station that was getting a grant from stimulus funds, Burr celebrated it.

IN OTHER NEWS: Sen. Kay Hagan and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller are pushing for a coin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro civil rights sit-ins. Perdue says a 20-year old affair by the head of the highway patrol is irrelevant to his job qualifications. The Gallup Poll has found that John Edwards’ standing in the minds of Americans has dropped further than Sammy Sosa's image after the slugger was discovered corking his bat.

When comedian Robin Williams was at DPAC the other day, he couldn't resist taking a few shots at former North Carolina senator John Edwards and his problems.

Williams said that Edwards had gone from North Carolina's "favorite son" to "father of the year," Rob Christensen reports.

And he said that some of the proceeds of his Durham concert would go to the "John Edwards Day Care Center."

John Edwards' approval rating among Americans has fallen 27 points, the steepest drop Gallup has measured since 1992.

In January 2008, the Gallup poll held Edwards at a 48 percent approval. Twenty-two months and one big sex scandal later and Edwards approval was 21 percent.

Edwards decline puts him atop the list of celebrities who have, mostly because of personal or professional troubles seen big drops in public approval, according to Gallup. Edwards peers include Jesse Jackson (24-point drop after a spike in approval from a diplomatic mission), Sammy Sosa (24-point drop after a bat-doctoring scandal), Tom Cruise, (23-point drop after lots of bad PR) and Martha Stewart (16-point drop after an insider trading scandal).

The Gallup survey of 1,013 Americans was conducted Oct. 1-4 and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.