When I read James Romoser’s story in the Winston-Salem Journal about Senator Dole spending only 13 days in North Carolina during 2006, my immediate reaction was: “That’s an ad.”

Thirteen days out of 365? Less than two weeks out of 52?

This is a gift from the political gods to Kay Hagan’s campaign. Any bets on how long it will take her – or the DSCC – to roll out a new ad?

Already, Dole has been “rocking-chaired” by the DSCC ads on her effectiveness.

(“Rocking-chaired” is to the Senate race what “Swift-boating” was to the presidential race in 2004.)

This plays right into the underlying “she’s-too-old” theme. For that matter, so do her own ads. The scene of her sitting on the porch makes her look like an Alzheimer’s patient.

Because Dole is already on the defensive about her effectiveness in the Senate, she can’t argue she was working so hard in Washington she couldn’t be here.

A year ago, nobody thought Dole would have a real challenge for the Senate. Today, she is on her way to being another in North Carolina’s string of one-term Senators, joining Robert Morgan, John East, Terry Sanford, Lauch Faircloth and John Edwards.

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