How bipartisan has U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole been?

With the candidates for Senate touting their ability to bridge the partisan divide, Dome decided to take a closer look.

One measure is the number of Democrats who signed onto legislation Dole sponsored.

In the 2007-08 session, the Salisbury Republican was the primary sponsor of 75 bills. Of them, 42 had no cosponsor, 18 had only Republican cosponsors and 15 had Democratic cosponsors.

Overall, her 87 cosponsors included 64 Republicans and 23 Democrats, or about a three-to-one ratio.

The most frequent Democratic cosponsors were Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Ted Kennedy. Lieberman, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, signed on to bills praising the Coast Guard for a cocaine seizure, creating a student loan program for worker training and committing 4 percent of the gross domestic product to military spending.

Kennedy signed onto the Coast Guard resolution, an amendment that would require the Navy to publicize Camp Lejeune's drinking water contamination, and a resolution honoring the U.S. Marshals' anniversary.

Dole also had Democratic cosponsors on bills recognizing the Lumbee tribe, giving a tax credit for hunger relief, amending the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Trade Act of 1974, starting a pilot program for pregnant college students, honoring Veterans Day, creating a Southeast Crescent Authority and researching flow batteries.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole joined five other senators in co-sponsoring climate change legislation.

Sens. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and John Warner of Virginia have worked for several months to draft America's Climate Security Act, a bill introduced today that is designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions, Barb Barrett reports.

The bill's goal is to reduce total U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by as much as 19% below the 2005 level in the next 13 years, and by as much as 63% below the 2005 level in 2050.

The bill allows companies to save, borrow and trade emission allowances. Companies could earn credits by "inducing" other non-covered businesses such as farms to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions.

"The solution to this serious problem is not inaction," Dole said in a statement. "We must ensure clean air for future generations, and this is a responsible, market-driven approach that strengthens our economy, competitiveness and security."

Other co-sponsors include Democratic Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa, Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Republican Sens. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Susan Collins of Maine.

The legislation is supported by both the National Wildlife Federation and Environmental Defense.