The Democratic vice presidential candidate said he was able to work with Senate colleagues like Helms, a staunch conservative, because he treated them respectfully:

"I have been able to work across the aisle on some of the most controversial issues and change my party's mind, as well as Republicans', because I learned a lesson from Mike Mansfield," Biden said. "Mike Mansfield, a former leader of the Senate, said to me one day ... I made a criticism of Jesse Helms. He said, 'What would you do if I told you Jesse Helms and Dot Helms had adopted a child who had braces and was in real need?' I said, 'I'd feel like a jerk.'

"He said, 'Joe, understand one thing. Everyone's sent here [to Congress] for a reason, because there's something in them that their folks like. Don't question their motive.' "

Biden attended Helms' funeral in Raleigh in July.

Misquotations

Pat McCrory's campaign says Bev Perdue is misquoting him.

At a forum on rural issues last week, Perdue cited a 2000 article in the Durham Herald-Sun in which McCrory said the state's transportation policies were encouraging sprawl.

Perdue argued that McCrory was saying the state should not build roads to rural areas.

But campaign manager Richard Hudson said the quote was taken out of context.

"Pat was talking about urban sprawl where big cities expand out and take over rural areas," he said. "It wouldn't make sense to say rural areas are sprawling and taking over urban areas."

He said McCrory's transportation plan would call for long-range planning that removes the politics from road decisions made by the state Board of Transportation.

"The DOT board has become an ATM for politicians like Beverly Perdue," he said.

The March 18, 2000, article in the Durham Herald-Sun quoted McCrory at a meeting of mayors from across the state. The story said: "For example, ... [McCrory] questioned the state's policy of building paved roads to every North Carolina community. 'We've always been known as the good roads state, and this encourages sprawl,' McCrory said."

Purge records sought

A group at the New York University School of Law says it has made a public records request to the N.C. State Board of Elections for purged voter lists to find out whether voters have been wrongly dropped from the rolls.

The Brennan Center for Justice is studying whether several states wrongly purged voters from their records.

The center's investigators are looking at states including North Carolina because they have had flawed voter purges or registration practices in the past, according to a news release from the Brennan Center.

The group says many states purge voter rolls in secret, without notifying voters.

"There really are no effective national standards to govern voter purges, and the result is a chaotic, whimsical approach to the maintenance of voter rolls," executive director Michael Waldman said.

Presidential activity

This will be a busy week in the presidential race in North Carolina.

Barack Obama is scheduled to hold a rally in Asheville today. The Democratic presidential candidate, who will be practicing for Tuesday's debate while staying in the Asheville area, will hold a rally at Asheville High School at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Sarah Palin will make her first campaign appearance in the state Tuesday night with a rally at East Carolina University in Greenville. The Republican vice presidential candidate is scheduled to speak at Minges Coliseum. Doors open at 5 p.m. for the event, which is free.

(Washington correspondent Barbara Barrett)

POLITICAL SCORECARD

Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan, who attacked opponent Sen. Elizabeth Dole for a lack of leadership and effectiveness, yet did not state her position on the big financial bailout until after the Senate vote.

Department of Health and Human Services, for its false start on the new mental hospital in Butner. A temporary restraining order prevents proceeding with the transfer of patients from Dorothea Dix Hospital.

Wachovia, which in the end, made a bold move to choose its own life preserver.

End-of-grade reading test scores for North Carolina students. School officials blame a harder test.

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