Easley says Senate meetings aren't a good fit

Gov. Mike Easley is not running for the U.S. Senate because he doesn't like meetings.

That's the explanation he gave during an interview with PBS talk show host Charlie Rose that aired Wednesday night.

After talking about education, the National Guard and free trade, Rose said that if he were in politics, he'd rather be governor than hold any other office. Easley agreed.

"You can go out and grab a problem by the throat and wrestle it down and do something, and you don`t have to sit around and convince 99 other people or 59 other people to go along with you," Easley said.

Rose, a North Carolina native, asked if that meant Easley wasn't planning on running for the Senate in 2008 against incumbent Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Easley, who was a prosecutor and attorney general before he became governor, said he was better in "executive positions."

"I just don't want to live that way," he said. "I mean, if you're in the Senate, you`re sitting around doing hearings all day long, having -- I'm not a good meeting person. I don't like sitting in meetings."

Easley did show at least one senatorial tendency, however. Throughout the interview, he lapsed into insidery government jargon -- "NGA" (National Governors Association), "200 percent of poverty" -- that Rose had to press him to explain in plain English for viewers.

UNC-TV will repeat the episode tonight at 11:30 p.m.

Cleaning up

It sounds like an anti-litter campaign for the capital city.

But CleanUpRaleigh.com is actually part of an Internet crusade for publicly financed elections for some top government leaders in North Carolina.

The Web site, created by Carrboro-based advocacy group Democracy North Carolina, argues that reform is needed because of the "stench of dirty money" after guilty pleas by former Speaker Jim Black.

"We're trying to tap into the outrage that's out there," said Adam Sotak, director of organizing.

The Web site directs visitors to an online petition calling for public financing. Sotak said Democracy North Carolina hopes to gather hundreds of thousands of people to support legislation that will be introduced in the coming weeks.

The bills are still being written, but Sotak said they will be similar to the funding set up for judicial races in 2002.

Under that program, statewide appellate candidates can receive public financing from a fund that comes from a $3 contribution from voters who check a box on their state income tax forms and from fees on attorney's licenses.

Senior agenda

Hampton Dellinger, a former Easley aide who wants to be lieutenant governor, is set to unveil a program to help seniors.

Dellinger, a Raleigh lawyer, called for a consumer-friendly rating system to help families evaluate adult care homes. He also calls for state income tax credits to help people purchase long-term care insurance, increasing home-base and community-based health services, and having state agencies provide exercise information for the elderly among other proposals.

"Voters want candidates with the values and vision to recognize serious challenges, and the fortitude to take and articulate solutions," Dellinger said.

With seniors among the most dedicated voters, expect other candidates to be coming out with "gray" agendas.

Dellinger is one of several Democrats interested in succeeding Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, who is expected to run for governor in 2008.

Biofuel bill

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge helped introduce legislation Thursday that would create new grants encouraging private, state and local investments in biofuels.

The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, would try to spur mass production of biofuels through a matching-grant program called the National Biofuels Infrastructure Development.

Etheridge, a co-chairman of the Rural Working Group for Democratic Leadership, has long pushed crop-based biofuels as an energy alternative.

At a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday, he championed crops such as soybeans, North Carolina's largest crop.

"They have hundreds of uses, including soybean diesel, which is competitive with the cost of traditional petroleum-based diesel," Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, said at a news conference on the legislation Thursday.

"By investing in biofuels, we are not only making energy more affordable, we're also investing in rural America," he said.