This month's elections in North Carolina were a victory by God over Satan. I know that because Warren Smith told me so.

Even before U.

Every 10 years, the General Assembly draws new district lines that are designed to protect incumbents, Democrats and Republicans alike.

North Carolina has long been one of the roughest neighborhoods in the country when it comes to political advertising.

Few were surprised that Dan Blue gave such a wet-noodle endorsement of Democratic Senate nominee Erskine Bowles last week. Blue, the runner-up in the Democratic primary, has been in a snit for the past six years -- and in the process he has moved from the Democratic Party's bright hope in the early '90s to increasing irrelevancy today.

Elizabeth wants to take your Social Security. Erskine is after your pension. Elizabeth doesn't like mothers' staying home from work to be with their sick children. Erskine pals around with scuzzy Bill Clinton.

'I'm living on chipped beef," Bob Dole says. "It's not bad. It's 18 minutes in boiling water."

As another week of politics comes to a close, here's my review of the highs and the lows of North Carolina's political scene.

Here are some lessons that I learned from last week's Senate primary races.

It was a Frank Capra-Jimmy Stewart kind of moment.

Labor Day normally marks the start of the fall political season.