News-Record.com

NC Gov. Mike Easley raised some eyebrows when he endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, not the least because the normally politically attuned Easley was picking a horse that most folks thought would pull up lame here.

He's since spent some time making nice to Sen. Barack Obama campaign.

Immediately after that appearance there was some chatter: is Easley angling for a job, just doing the right thing for the party, getting his karma right with the political gods?

Well, Easley has been lending a hand to the Obama campaign again. First, a little background.

President Bush has been advocating offshore drilling along the Atlantic Coast as a way to bring down the price of gas and help put some more oil in the system. Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, had been against offshore drilling. But after a speech this week, not so much:

But the stakes are high for our citizens and for our economy. And with gasoline running at more than four bucks a gallon, many do not have the luxury of waiting on the far-off plans of futurists and politicians. We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use.

We can do this in ways that are consistent with sensible standards of environmental protection. And in states that choose to permit exploration, there must be an appropriate sharing of benefits between federal and state governments. But as a matter of fairness to the American people, and a matter of duty for our government, we must deal with the here and now, and assure affordable fuel for America by increasing domestic production.

The full speech is here.

Obama disagrees with McCain. And when campaigns don't have their own candidate rebut the other guy, they often call on surrogates.

So Gov. Mike Easley on Wednesday got on a conference call with reporters today to decry McCain's "flip-flop" on the off-shore drilling issue and outline why he thought it was a bad idea.

"People need to understand this policy does not help working families at all," Easley said. "Any drilling would be 10 years away....We would never be able to affect the price."

He also said that looking for more oil takes the focus looking for renewable energy like wind and other alternatives to conserve.

"The people are being sold a bill of good here. This policy will not lower the price of gasoline," Easley said. He added that oil drilling could threaten the state's tourism economy, particularly if there were an accident that soiled the beeches or fisheries.

So will this work for Obama cause more talk about Easley playing some sort of role in an Obama administration or, heaven knows, a VP slot?

Not if the folks at Public Policy Polling are headed:

When asked if Hillary Clinton being on the Obama ticket would have any effect on their vote, the survey shows 18% of respondents being more likely to vote for Obama, and 13% being less likely.

Similar results were found when asked about the likelihood of voters choosing Obama if John Edwards was on the ticket, with 19% saying they would be more likely, and 15% saying they would be less likely.

North Carolina voters seem to be showing weak support for Governor Mike Easley as a potential candidate, with 22% saying they would be less likely to vote for Obama if he was on the ticket, compared to the 11% that said they would be more likely.