Dole works hard, but spotlight eludes her

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has been telling economic advisers, media, constituents and anyone else who will listen that she knew years ago this financial crisis was coming.

She was on the phone last week with a Wilmington banker.

"You know, all this could have been avoided," she told him. "Back in 2003, I had legislation with ..."

She named the senators she had joined, described how, year after year, their bill to rein in two giant mortgage companies couldn't gain support to pass.

"It was like David and Goliath," she continued.

Dole was supposed to be North Carolina's Goliath.

She joined the U.S. Senate in 2003 with a hefty resume as a two-time Cabinet member, one-time presidential candidate and former head of one of the nation's largest charities. She was one of politics' true rock stars.

Instead, Dole has spent her first term largely as a back-bencher who is more likely to co-sponsor major legislation than author it, more likely to join a group of negotiators than lead it.

Now, as Dole seeks re-election for a second term, she faces questions about how much she has accomplished for North Carolina. A high-profile ad in the campaign criticizes her effectiveness.

"If you look for things she's done, you have to look hard and long to find those things," said Kerry Haynie, a political scientist at Duke University. "She's more of a silent senator in many respects."

Dole says she has a long list of achievements in the Senate.

Indeed, she blocked some international trade deals until they included provisions to shield local textile companies from overseas competition. She led an effort to protect military families from predatory lending, and she forced the Navy to provide information to Marines who might have ingested toxic water at Camp Lejeune.

Dole also claims credit for protecting military bases in North Carolina from closure or reductions, though she held supporting roles. In other situations, as in her work to oppose the Navy's outlying landing field in Eastern North Carolina, she came late to the game.

Her star turn at the helm of the National Republican Senatorial Committee ended miserably when Republicans lost control of the Senate, and she's been frustrated in efforts to earn federal recognition for the Lumbee tribe.

Dole says she's not out to grab the limelight.

"We have led the way on so many different issues," she said. "It's not about aggrandizement for me. It's what matters for North Carolina."

Her friends in the Senate say she's among its hardest workers.

"Truthfully, a lot of senators just sort of do their bit, but she really works a lot of these issues," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who works with her on the Armed Services Committee.

Dole was an executive before she came to Capitol Hill, serving as secretary of labor and of transportation. She also was chief of the American Red Cross.

But getting things done in the Senate isn't so much about calling the shots as working the room. Some observers say she faltered.

"She didn't come in with a clear set of priorities and so has meandered a little bit," said Jennifer Duffy, who follows Senate races for the Cook Political Report.

Collegial style

In two of Dole's highest-profile achievements -- the tobacco buyout and the military base realignment -- the freshman senator was a significant player. But these were effectively team efforts.

At the Senate Banking Committee hearing last week, senators quick-fired questions at Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke about the $700 billion Wall Street bailout proposal.