Lots can be learned from the Center for Responsive Politics' new report on Congress' newest members.

The Washington-based non-profit website offers online campaign databases about every member of Congress, breaking down donations and expenditures and ferreting out details about industry and lobbyist support, Barb Barrett reports.

The group released data today on North Carolina's newest senator, Kay Hagan, who was sworn in Tuesday.

Among the tidbits:

* The website ActBlue was Hagan's top donor. Donations linked to the Democratic website amounted to $1.2 million among Hagan's itemized donations.

* Nearly 40 percent of Hagan's financial support came from out of state. Two states rang up more than $500,000 for her: North Carolina and California. Within North Carolina, her top geographical support came from the Triad — not surprising since Hagan is from Greensboro.

* Hagan received $10,000 each from political action committees representing such groups as steelworkers, airline pilots, teachers, firefighters and Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu, Tom Carper, Patrick Leahy and Richard Durbin.

Details on Hagan (and all the other new House and Senate members) are available here.

John McCain is buying air time in North Carolina.

The Republican presidential candidate had not previously aired TV ads specifically here, although North Carolinians had seen other ads on national cable shows.

Following earlier attacks on the Democratic candidate as a "celebrity," the ad shows footage of Barack Obama's Berlin speech.

"Take away the crowds, the chants — all that's left are costly words," a female narrator says. "Barack Obama and out-of-touch Congressional leaders have expensive plans, billions in new government spending, years of deficits, no balanced budgets and painful tax increases on working American families."

The ad then shows pictures of Obama and U.S. Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Harry Reid of Nevada, Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Chuck Schumer of New York.

The choice of "Congressional leaders" is interesting. Dodd is a former Democratic presidential candidate, Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, Leahy an antagonist of Vice President Dick Cheney and Schumer is heading the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Still, these are faces better known to Washington insiders — Dome and his colleagues had to play the ad three times to name them all — and Reid is shown twice. None are running for re-election this year and the ad is not running in any of their states.

In days gone by, Republicans would have linked Obama to Ted Kennedy, though his cancer may have made him too sympathetic to serve that purpose. Still, the absence of Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi is worth pondering.

Gov. Mike Easley and U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, both Democrats, are planning a joint press conference Monday morning to talk about their concerns about the readiness of the military and the National Guard as a result of the war in Iraq.

Easley has taken the lead within the National Governors Association on National Guard issues, while Leahy is co-chairman of the National Guard Caucus.