Politicians, too, find reasons to be thankful

We all know today is a day to give thanks.

Thanks for family and friends.

Thanks for good health and good jobs.

And thanks that the election is finally over.

It is in that spirit that Dome offers its thoughts on what some of the state's political types might be thankful for on this holiday:

U.S. REP. ROBIN HAYES: That Rahm Emanuel and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wrote off his Democratic opponent Larry Kissell. The recounts are continuing, but the Concord Republican appears to have barely edged Kissell to hold on to his seat in the 8th Congressional District.

U.S. SEN. ELIZABETH DOLE: For the sands of time. The Republicans lost control of the Senate, but at least her two-year reign of "The Election Cycle That Stunk For Republicans" is over. Dole knew the odds were long when she became chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but few expected the Senate to go Democratic until a few days before the election. Now, Dole can focus on the re-election race that really matters: her own.

U.S. SEN. RICHARD BURR: That the Winston-Salem Republican ran for election in 2004, not 2006.

U.S. REP. DAVID PRICE: For President Bush and the Republicans. Anger at the GOP and the White House propelled Democrats in control of Congress, probably giving Price the chairmanship of the House subcommittee that doles out money for homeland security.

U.S. REP. BRAD MILLER: For media that love controversy. His opponent, Vernon Robinson, attracted national attention for ads featuring mariachi music, the Beverly Hillbillies theme song, and slams against illegal immigrants and homosexuals. Many voters said their anger at Robinson led to their vote for Miller.

THE U.S. HOUSE FOOTBALL TEAM: That they now have a former Redskins quarterback, Heath Shuler, for their annual football game against the Capitol Police.

PRESIDENTIAL WANNABE JOHN EDWARDS: That John Kerry can't tell a joke, that former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner didn't have the stomach for a presidential campaign, and that Sen. Hillary Clinton blew $30 million on a shoo-in re-election campaign.

WAL-MART: For the unnamed staffer to Edwards who apparently hadn't been paying attention to Edwards' criticism of the nation's largest retailer, and turned to Wal-Mart for a hard-to-get PlayStation3 for the Edwards family.

HOUSE SPEAKER JIM BLACK AND FORMER SPEAKER RICHARD MORGAN: For legal defense funds that allow them to shield the names of contributors.

NORTH CAROLINA DEFENSE LAWYERS: For the work they've picked up in the past year as a result of criminal probes in state government.

N.C. STATE TREASURER RICHARD MOORE: That state Attorney General Roy Cooper took himself out of the 2008 race for governor, leaving Moore as the leading challenger to Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in the Democratic primary.

LT. GOV BEVERLY PERDUE: That U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican, decided not run for governor. Had Myrick run, Perdue would have had a strong challenger to be the first female governor of North Carolina.

GOV. MIKE EASLEY: That the various problems with the lottery, a pet project of the governor, came to light after it passed close votes in the legislature.

THE BABY JESUS: That most lawmakers didn't listen to Rep. Drew Saunders, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, who contended they should continue accepting gifts from lobbyists because the baby Jesus wasn't corrupted by the gifts he received.