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Karl Rove, chief political advisor to President George W. Bush, said Barack Obama's operation overwhelmed John McCain's campaign in North Carolina in 2008.

Rove, who was in Raleigh to help raise $425,000 for Sen. Richard Burr on Thursday, was asked about Obama's victory over McCain, Rob Christensen reports. It was the first time in 32 years that a Democratic presidential candidate had carried the state.

"President Obama had a big tactical advantage that allowed him to nip the state by less than four tenths of one percent or something like that," Rove said in an interview. "Between June and November he raised and spent $850 million to John McCain's $525 million. That's a big difference. If you can come in here and cover the state as did in the end with television advertising and McCain had no dollars to respond, that's a problem."

"The imbalance in organization, media and campaign activity in this state was enormous," Rove said. "Of course one out of every five adults in this state is African-American and they voted for Obama in numbers much larger than they turned out before."

State Sen. Dan Blue offered a dissenting vote on a commission studying how the Democratic Party nominates its presidential candidate.

The Fix's Chris Cillizza reports that the Democratic Change Commission has recommended the party eliminate its superdelegates, who can vote for any candidate regardless of how a primary election turned out. The superdelegates were mostly irrelevant until last year's hotly contested primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Clinton urged superdelegates to choose her and the fight dragged on well into the primary season. North Carolina had a rare important presidential primary last year.

North Carolina state Sen. Dan Blue, a member of the Commission, offered a dissenting voice on a call announcing the proposed changes. "There is no escape when something unforeseen occurs," said Blue of the potential consequences of eliminating unpledged delegates.

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.

Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin wasn't happy about having to share her campaign bus with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr.

We at Dome know the Winston-Salem Republican as a personable guy who's pretty easy going. And so, Palin's unhappiness over her travel companion has us thinking of possible reasons, beyond the fact that Burr was very close to Sen. John McCain, who led the ticket.

So here are five possibilities:

1. Palin, used to the colder climate in Alaska, didn't trust a man who wears dress shoes without socks.

2. Two hours of Wake Forest football war stories was more than enough, thank you.

3. She got tired of Burr wanting to pull over at every ATM to withdraw money.

4. At campaign stops, Palin noticed Burr's VW "Thing" parked illegally.

5. Burr kept bragging that his staff was better looking than her staff.

As she campaigned around the country, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin feuded with Sen. John McCain's senior staff.

In her new book, "Going Rogue," Palin describes those staffers as trying to hold her back and making big blunders. But e-mail messages obtained by the Atlantic magazine show the problems were running both ways.

Palin didn't like having to ride on her campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express II, with special guests, politicians or celebrities.

By late October, Palin and headquarters staff were communicating through intermediates. On October 26, after a long day of stumping in North Carolina, Palin issued an edict to her traveling staff.

"We were informed today that she no longer wishes to do talk radio interviews in the car. It's too distracting," wrote a senior Palin adviser, in an e-mail to senior headquarters staffers.

"We were informed today that she no longer wishes to do TV or print interviews post-rally. She's drained. We were informed of her displeasure that her host and US Senator Richard Burr was allowed to ride the [Straight Talk Express II] with her."

He ended the e-mail: "I don't know what else to tell you."

Hat tip: RTB

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

Should Elizabeth Edwards bear some responsibility for the marital infidelities of her husband, former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards?

Two high profile women, Sally Quinn and Lee Woodruff, have been debating the question in the blogosphere, Rob Christensen reports.

Quinn, an author and former Washington Post columnist, wrote in the Huffington Post that Elizabeth Edwards may have been an enabler.

Quinn said Edwards' infidelities were not different from those of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer or former President Bill Clinton. She called them "enabling wives."

"Nobody has more respect for Elizabeth Edwards than I do," Quinn writes. "First of all, any woman who has lost a child gets a pass for life from me. Nothing could be more horrible. Not only that, she is brilliant, clever, capable, decent and courageous."

But the problem, Quinn writes, is "she let him do it."

More after the jump.

Linda Daves had some harsh words for Sarah Palin.

At a recent question-and-answer session with top-ranking Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the North Carolina GOP chairwoman brought up a lingering issue from the 2008 campaign, according to MSNBC:

Another interesting moment during the question-and-answer session came when North Carolina Party Chair Linda Daves rose to ask if there was a budget for clothing candidates, an obvious -- and sharp-edged -- reference to Sarah Palin's paid-for campaign wardrobe.

In response, a Republican National Committee member in charge of the budget blamed the McCain campaign, which had blamed the RNC during the campaign.

Politico says the Senate race was among the top 10 upsets.

The D.C.-based political newspaper said Sen.-elect Kay Hagan "wasn't expected to have much of a shot" at beating Sen. Elizabeth Dole because of the incumbent's "star power and imposing fundraising skills."

But Dole’s national profile proved to be a double-edged sword. Hagan used it to portray the incumbent as a Washington politician who had lost touch with North Carolina. She gained steadily throughout the summer and the fall, leading Dole to unleash a barrage of blistering attack ads that ended up hurting her own image even more than they damaged Hagan.

The result on Election Day? A nine-point win for the Greensboro legislator. 

Others on the list included Barack Obama's November win in Indiana, Mike Huckabee's win in Iowa, Hillary Clinton's in New Hampshire, John McCain's in South Carolina, and Congressional races in Louisiana, Alaska, Virginia and Illinois.