It is once again a time to give thanks. And Under the Dome is grateful for all of the politicians, spinmeisters, bureaucrats, operatives and just plain voters who have made this column possible since it became a regular feature in the 1930s. Here is what Dome thinks some of the politicians and others involved in politics should be thankful for this year:

CHERIE BERRY. The state labor commissioner can be thankful that she will no longer be the lone Republican when the Council of State meets. Berry will be joined by Auditor Les Merritt and possibly one or two others once the election dust settles.

JIM BLACK. The state House Democratic co-speaker is thankful for infighting Republicans, who gave back the House to the Democrats this election.

GARY BARTLETT. Given all of the problems getting an accurate count of votes this year, the state elections director should give thanks that there's not another big election year until 2008.

ERSKINE BOWLES. After losing back-to-back U.S. Senate races, the former White House chief of staff gives thanks that there will not be another Senate race until 2008.

RICHARD BURR. The senator-elect can give thanks for film footage of foe Erskine Bowles saying nice things about former President Clinton -- not to mention for former intern Monica Lewinsky for helping make Clinton so radioactive.

ROY COOPER, RICHARD MOORE AND BEVERLY PERDUE. The state's attorney general, state treasurer and lieutenant governor should be thankful that the state constitution limits governors to serving two consecutive terms so that they can run in 2008.

DEMOCRATIC JUDGES are thankful the legislature made judicial races non-partisan, giving them a chance to don black robes again.

DOCTORS give thanks for the U.S. Senate election, in which a staunch advocate of limits on lawsuit awards (Burr) replaced one of the nation's leading malpractice attorneys (John Edwards).

ELIZABETH DOLE. That she will be able to earn political chits from her U.S. Senate colleagues as the new leader of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

MIKE EASLEY. The introverted governor is thankful that he can return to his pre-campaign seclusion at the Executive Mansion.

JESSE HELMS. That there is not another state election for four years, so GOP candidates will stop making pilgrimages to his home, like Catholics traveling to Rome for a blessing from the Pope. He can also be thankful that his granddaughter is now a Wake County judge.

D.G. MARTIN. The Chapel Hill attorney and book show host is thankful for his son breaking the family political curse. After D.G. Martin lost two bids for Congress in the 1980s and one for the U.S. Senate in 1998, his son Grier Martin was elected this year to the state House from Wake County.

PATRICK MCHENRY. That he won the lottery among congressional freshmen for first pick of offices on Capitol Hill.

NORTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA is thankful that the state Senate stayed in Democratic hands so Senate leader Marc Basnight can continue to pour government projects into that section of the state.

TAR HEEL REPUBLICANS are grateful that they didn't have to talk to any homosexuals. The Log Cabin Republicans, a gay group, was banned from having a table at the state GOP convention in Greensboro this year.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA is thankful for a state House that wants to grant every construction wish.

RICHARD VINROOT. The former Charlotte mayor can be thankful he didn't win the Republican nomination for governor a second time. Losing to the "little fellow" again would have been hard to take.

VOTERS are thankful that they won't have to see any negative political attacks ads for a while.