Politics is odd but Elizabeth Dole must feel the world turned upside down in the three weeks after the election. The Sunday before the election she was on TV defending Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, saying he didn’t need to resign. Three days later President Bush fired Rumsfeld.

Senator Dole was also Chairman of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee during the campaign, so she’s been getting flack for Republicans losing the Senate – which is a little like shooting the messenger because you don’t like the message. Some Republicans, apparently, would rather blame their defeat on Elizabeth Dole than the War in Iraq.

Anyway, Senator Dole’s tenure as Chairman of the Senate Fund is done now and according to the News and Observer (11-10-06) she’s going to work on “her priorities for North Carolina.” What are they? According to the newspaper Senator Dole “is trying to get federal recognition for the Lumbee tribe and is pushing community college legislation.”

Now there are great challenges facing North Carolina but federal recognition of the Lumbee Indian tribe is hardly one of them, and I expect Senator Dole knows it – so that final miscue must have seemed like a fitting end to a bad three weeks.

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