Why might Roy Cooper wait to announce a Senate run?

Both Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza and Democratic blogger Senate Guru have recently speculated that the attorney general will announce in the next few weeks.

We at Dome maintain our stance on the utility of such speculation, but we thought we'd lay bare some of the reasons you're hearing the rumor and why it's probably just that.

* The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee wants a candidate. The national group had a good week slamming Sen. Richard Burr and would love to start on a high note. By leaking the rumor, it indirectly puts pressure on Cooper.

* Cooper likely wants to wait. After an eight-year legal battle, Cooper will face a trial in a defamation lawsuit over his campaign ad against Dan Boyce on May 18. If he announces now, the trial will be even more high profile.

In short, you're likely to continue hearing periodic rumors of an impending announcement from Cooper over the next few weeks.

But unless you hear that a Rocky Mount auditorium has been booked, it's just speculation.

National Democrats are already targeting U.S. Sen. Richard Burr.

The Winston-Salem Republican is not up for re-election until 2010, but Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman Bob Menendez has already said it will be one of nine overall targets next year.

Support from the DSCC last year helped Sen. Kay Hagan significantly, even after more high-profile Democrats passed on the race. Advance notice of similar support could spur others to seriously consider the race this time.

Without naming names, Menendez told the D.C.-based Hotline that he believed the party "will have a great candidate in to challenge him."

Dome's two cents: Predicting which Senate races will be competitive two years ahead of time is kind of like predicting whether it will be raining at 10:37 a.m. next Tuesday.

Hat Tip: Senate Guru 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole had to change planes recently.

The first version of a recent ad for the Salisbury Republican boasts of her work helping North Carolina's military bases avoid closure during the BRAC process.

But as the liberal Senate Guru blog and D.C.-based newspaper The Hill pointed out, stock footage in the ad showed a French plane — a Dassault Super Étendard (top image).

A second version of the ad substituted an all-American F-15 (bottom image).

"Basically, our media consultant used the wrong stock footage, but it was corrected," Dole spokesman Hogan Gidley told the newspaper.

The campaign of rival Democrat Kay Hagan used the flub to argue Dole was out of touch.

"I imagine she’s celebrating Bastille Day today, as well," Hagan spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan told The Hill.

Update: Dole's campaign issued a statement:

"While Kay Hagan is focused on little gotchas, slipper parties and lurking around gas stations, Senator Dole is campaigning on her long record of delivering results for North Carolina and has an actual plan to improve the economy and bring down gas prices," Gidley said in a statement.