For two weeks they toured the mountains visiting such places as Spruce Pine, Mount Mitchell, Chimney Rock and Highlands.

The Doles are one of only two couples in America where both husband and wife have run for president. So they didn't just kick back with their daily milkshake. They worked the crowds. They visited a Veterans Administration hospital.

"It's amazing," said Elizabeth Dole. "I can't see him sitting still for five minutes. It was great fun, walking up and down the streets."

Of course, Elizabeth Dole faces re-election next year to the Senate, so there was method to their madness.

Dole was elected in 2002 during the height of patriotic spirit after the Sept. 11 attacks, with President Bush often campaigning at her side. Since then, support for both the war in Iraq and Bush have slid dramatically -- something Dole knows intimately, having headed the unsuccessful effort last year to keep the U.S. Senate in Republican hands.

Dole strategists hope next year will be better for Republicans. But Dole is taking no chances.

"I think it will be a tough environment," Dole said. "You throw your hat in the ring knowing you have to work hard. You run scared even if your opponent is not announced."

Most of the big guns in the Democratic Party have taken a pass on the race, including Gov. Mike Easley, with whom Dole recently had lunch in the Executive Mansion.

Looking at running against Dole are state Rep. Grier Martin of Raleigh and state Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro.

Dole's strategists think she is well-positioned to fend off any opponent. She raised $2.8 million during the first six months of the year and completed a string of fundraisers in August. They note that she has received contributions from 11,000 donors, only a small percentage of whom have given the maximum amount.

Their own poll, taken last week, shows Dole with a job approval rating of 64 percent and a disapproval rating of 23 percent. A majority of moderates and Democrats like her, according to the Dole poll.

Dole has always been a shrewd politician. Her voting record is solidly conservative, but many moderates see her as a moderate.

Criticized for spending too much time away from the state? Dole vacations in the mountains. Seen as increasingly partisan during her stint as chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee? She is now emphasizing her bipartisan efforts with the likes of Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton.

She has also begun to put a little daylight between herself and the Bush administration on the war. Last week, she said said she would support "what some have called action-forcing measures" in Iraq.

"The difficulty of the current American and Iraqi situation is rooted in large part in the Bush administration's substantial failure to understand the full implications of our military invasion and the litany of mistakes made at the outset of the war," Dole said.

Dole's comments prompted some uncomfortable questions to White House spokesman Tony Snow. And when was the last time that happened?