There is a locked box?

Well, not the type of locked box that Al Gore wanted for social security but a locked box has been found in a North Carolina building. WTVD-11 is reporting that a locked box was found in a Raleigh building and "the employees of Touch of Color Photography have tried hard to crack since they moved into this Falls of the Neuse building three months ago." Guess who was a former owner of the building?

The building was built back in the 80's and it was a bank with a drive thru window so not only does it have this huge vault, it also has a the locked smaller one as well.

There have been three or four tenants since it was a bank and none of them know anything about the safe or the lock combination.

So who does know the combination? The owner of the building, Senator John Edwards, was never told the combination, and a locksmith said there could be millions of possibilities with a hand dial and a touch pad.

If you guessed retiring Senator John Edwards, you are right on the money!

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is reporting that Senator Dick Lugar has opened his campaign office and hired a campaign manager for his re-election in 2006. Unless something dramatic happens, expect Dick Lugar to hold on to his seat. Joe Kernan couldn't beat Daniels. He'll have a heck of a time beating Lugar. Will Mayor Bart Peterson of Indianapolis take him on? Time will only tell.

Lugar, 72, is in his fifth six-year term, making him the longest-serving Hoosier senator in the state’s history. He took office in 1977 and ranks ninth in seniority in the 100-member Senate. He is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

He has hired a campaign manager, Nick Weber, and the Lugar re-election campaign operations are opening new offices in Indianapolis. Weber, who is Lugar’s Indiana press secretary, will move from the Senate staff to the campaign operations after Jan. 1.

Since he won his last campaign in 2000, Lugar has raised $2.2 million. Lugar spent $5.2 million on his last campaign; the most recent Indiana Senate race, Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh’s re-election last month, cost $2.9 million.

Sen. Bayh still has a load of money left in the bank from the last campaign.

The Washington Post reports that the latest recount is putting Attorney General Gregoire on top.

The head of the state Democratic Party said late Tuesday that recount results from King County give Democrat Christine Gregoire an eight-vote victory in the closest governor's race in state history.

Any more lawsuits contesting results that I need to know about?

Steven Sisson writes what is next for the Democrats. The progressive Democrat of Virginia even goes as far to make an endorsement for 2008. Who? If you guessed Evan Bayh, you are correct.

Evan Bayh is a good, articulate speaker, an intelligent fellow and a good-looking Democratic candidate.

He's a perfect candidate for the ailing Democrats.

Is everybody looking to Evan Bayh in 2008? All the people I speak with in Kentucky like him.

Augusta Free Press: Warner's eyes on White House prize?It is an interesting article. Governor Warner's take on the matter:

"It's flattering ... and frightening," Warner told The Augusta Free Press.[...]

"The Democratic Party simply can't continue to write off large parts of the country and continue to remain a truly viable national party," Warner said.

One needs to look no further than the results of the '04 presidential election to see that, Warner said.

"We could see that in the past presidential race here in Virginia," Warner said. "For a lot of folks in the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest and Southside, all they needed to know about John Kerry was that he was a Massachusetts senator and that, whether or not you buy into such labels, he was seen by some as being more liberal than Teddy Kennedy.

"Once they knew that, they didn't need to bother to learn anything substantive about his positions on the issues of the day," Warner said.

He has some great advice for the party. We have to run in all 50 states...red, white, and blue! He is focusing on finishing his last year of his term.