POLITICAL INSIDER

An insider's view of this year's elections based on dispatches from around the nation.

John Bolton weighs a WH run

[September 10, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says he's considering a White House run.

President George W. Bush's top arms control official and later the nation's top diplomat at the U.N., Bolton told Fox Business Network on Thursday that he is weighing a White House bid against President Barack Obama in 2012 because he feels national security has faded from the public debate.

"I am thinking about it because I think legitimate issues of national security should be more at the center of the national debate than they have been for the last two years," said Bolton, who also worked for the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

Bolton has emerged a favorite voice for foreign policy conservatives and candidates and a popular contributor to the Fox networks. He also is a polarizing figure for Democrats, who in the Senate blocked his permanent appointment to the U.N.; President George W. Bush used a recess appointment to send him to New York.

Obama moved into the White House during an economic crisis that has proved stubbornly difficult. With unemployment stuck just below 10 percent and Americans worried about the economy, he has spent most of his time trying to connect his policies to voters' pocketbooks.

While the Obama administration has made headway with foreign policy, White House officials looking at this year's midterm elections and the president's likely 2012 re-election bid have preferred tangible domestic accomplishments, such as jobs or roads, over vague international victories.

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North Carolina's most visible swing voters are back on television.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr began airing an ad Thursday featuring two memorable men in rocking chairs -- the same two talkers who starred in a nearly identical spot credited for helping Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan to victory in 2008.

"Boy, we sure got it wrong last election," one of the white-haired men in plaid shirts says to start the scene.

Adds the other: "Some hope and change: Bad economy, lost jobs."

They complain about government spending and debt while a granddaughter -- a new character -- worries that she's going to get stuck with the bill.

A spokeswoman for Burr's campaign said one of the men featured in the ad approached Burr earlier this year, saying he wanted to help the campaign.

Burr's campaign plans to spend more than $300,000 airing the ad statewide, starting Thursday and going through the next two weeks.

A Raleigh-based talent agency that represents the men declined to provide their identities or details on their political views.

Two years ago, the men were featured in a television spot complaining about the ineffectiveness of Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole and her ties to President George W. Bush. It was part of a multimillion-dollar ad buy from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that was credited with helping turn voters against the incumbent.

Hagan, then a little-known state senator, went on to win the race.

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Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth says his Republican Senate opponent is saying one thing and doing another when it comes to immigration.

Ellsworth says former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats claims to oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants, but in 1984 Coats voted for a bill that would have provided legal status to some illegal immigrants already living in the U.S. Ellsworth says he would never vote for amnesty.

Coats says he opposes amnesty. The Republican's campaign says Coats voted for the 1984 proposal because it contained other measures to crack down on illegal immigration. The bill didn't become law. The campaign says Coats voted against amnesty in a 1986 bill and has consistently opposed amnesty.

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Quick hits:

• Former Gov. Tom Ridge is praising Republican candidate Pat Toomey's record on jobs and is endorsing him in the Pennsylvania Senate race. Toomey is in a close race with Democratic candidate Joe Sestak, a member of the House.

• A builders' trade association has endorsed Republican Paul LePage for Maine governor. Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine on Thursday announced its support for LePage at a news conference in Portland, saying the Waterville mayor is the candidate best prepared to get the state's economy back on track and help business owners create great jobs statewide.

• Former "Manhattan Madam" Kristin Davis says she's running for governor of New York to push her causes of legalizing and taxing marijuana, legalizing gay marriage and decriminalizing prostitution. She has secured a line on the ballot in November for her Anti-Prohibition Party.

[Associated Press; By PHILIP ELLIOTT]

Associated Press writers Mike Baker in Raleigh, N.C., and Deanna Martin in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

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