A Burr in Their Saddle

RALEIGH, N.C. (By David N. Bass, The American Spectator) - Facing what could be a tough string of mid-term elections in 2010, Democrats are ramping up efforts to target weak Republican incumbents. U.S. Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina is one of them.

Last year Burr's state broke for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in three decades. His Republican comrade in the Senate, Elizabeth Dole, lost handily to a liberal legislator the same year, and Democrats solidified their majority in the state's congressional delegation by unseating five-term Republican Robin Hayes.

To make matters worse, Burr's approval numbers are in the can, he's been the target of effective attack ads excoriating his panache for panicky ATM withdrawals, and polls show that many North Carolinians don't know who he is, despite his presence in the Senate for almost six years.

Democrats smell blood. Their Senatorial Campaign Committee has already launched a few mortar rounds in what is sure to be a down-and-dirty general election race. State-level party operators are gearing up, eager to put John Edwards' former Senate seat back in Democratic hands.

They only have one problem -- no candidate.