By Brian Faler

Sunday, December 22, 2002; Page A05

Illinois politicos expect former Democratic senator Carol Moseley-Braun to announce after the holidays that she will run, once again, for the Senate -- a move that would set up a rematch against the man who unseated her, Republican Peter Fitzgerald.

Moseley-Braun was somewhat coy in an interview, saying that although she has been encouraged to throw her hat back into the ring -- especially after Sen. Trent Lott's racially divisive comments -- she is mulling over the idea.

She confirmed a recent news report that she has spoken with the Senate's Democratic leader, Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), about running.

Moseley-Braun was first elected to the body in 1992, when she became the first black woman elected to the Senate. She became known as an outspoken advocate for women and minorities.

But after a series of ethics accusations and a controversial trip to meet with a Nigerian dictator, she was narrowly defeated by Fitzgerald. Since then, she has been the ambassador to New Zealand, has taught college and has practiced law in Chicago.

If Moseley-Braun runs, she would join what is likely to be a gaggle of Democrats and Republicans vying for the office. State Democrats feel confident about their chances in 2004 after bucking nationwide trends and trouncing their GOP rivals in this year's contests. Many Illinois Republicans, meanwhile, have grown tired of Fitzgerald's iconoclasm and are also looking for potential challengers.

Republicans are screaming about comments by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) that charitable works made Osama bin Laden popular in poor countries -- and her challenge to the United States to do the same.

Murray told students in Vancouver, Wash., on Friday that bin Laden and his supporters have spent years building good will by helping to pay for schools, roads and even day care facilities, the Associated Press reported. "We haven't done that," Murray said. "How would they look at us today if we had been there helping them with some of that rather than just being the people who are going to bomb in Iraq and go to Afghanistan?"

Washington state Republican Chairman Chris Vance urged Murray to retract her statements. "It is absolutely outrageous and despicable to imply that the American government should learn a lesson from the madman who murdered thousands of American citizens," he said.

In a statement, Murray called bin Laden "an evil terrorist who is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans" and accused Vance and others of twisting her words.

"Having a challenging and thoughtful discussion about America's future reflects the best values of a free democracy; to sensationalize and distort in an attempt to divide is not," she said.

"While we continue to search every corner of the globe to destroy Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, should we also consider the longer-term issue of what else can be done to improve relations with all nations, including the Arab world?" she said.

Rep. George R. Nethercutt (R-Wash.) called Murray's comments "bizarre" and uninformed. "You have to wonder what country Senator Murray has been living in since September 11th," he said.

Now that it has finished bashing Microsoft for squeezing the competition, the Association for Competitive Technology has decided to turn its attention to the nuts and bolts of legislating.

The group, which represents 3,000 small and medium-sized technology companies, is focused on expanding broadband technology, removing barriers to e-commerce and lowering trade barriers, among other thing.

"We're trying to bring a different trade organization to the Hill," said Jonathan Zuck, the group's president.

Zuck said big technology companies have dominated the political debate for too long. His group was a vocal critic of Microsoft during the software giant's legal battle.

"Hopefully, we can get the debate back to substance," Zuck said.

Staff writer Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.