Easley's blue-collar appeal plays to Clinton's strategy

Governor says he'll make a case for the senator, who faces long odds in N.C

RALEIGH -- Gov. Mike Easley doesn't have a powerful state organization, nor is he a national political figure.

But Easley's endorsement of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton could help the Democratic presidential candidate in her quest for more traditional rural and small-town blue-collar Democrats in North Carolina's primary Tuesday.

Easley's reputation as a sort of "Governor Bubba" helped make him the only two-term Democratic governor in the South. Easley was elected to office as a pistol-packing former prosecutor and was re-elected as the governor who crashed a NASCAR race car into the wall during a charity event.

"Easley probably appeals to more conservative Democrats, to the blue-collar voters that Hillary Clinton has been targeting," said Steven Greene, an N.C. State University political science professor. "He strengthens her efforts among those groups."

But Greene said he thought Easley's endorsement would have only a modest effect, noting that public opinion polls suggest that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has a double-digit lead.

"There is nothing to suggest it would change the fundamental dynamics of the race here," Greene said.

Easley's endorsement is the biggest "get" of the North Carolina presidential primary, especially with former Sen. John Edwards, a former presidential candidate, seemingly intent on sitting on the sidelines.

Easley said he intends to campaign at Clinton's side when she returns to the state Friday for a three-day campaign swing.

Easley said he had been leaning toward Clinton for months and had had periodic talks with Clinton and her husband, former President Clinton. But he didn't decide to endorse until Monday, after returning from a state trade trip to Italy.

He never talked to Obama, although he had discussions with several Obama supporters, including Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, who came to the Executive Mansion for dinner.

Governors have played an important role in Clinton's recent successes -- particularly in Pennsylvania and Ohio, where Govs. Ed Rendell and Ted Strickland used their organizations to help Clinton. In Indiana, Clinton is being helped by Sen. Evan Bayh, a former governor.

But Easley is a political loner who does not have a wide political network, relying more on his direct appeal over TV to voters.

"I don't have an apparatus, I don't have machinery in every county that I can deliver like maybe an Ed Rendell could," Easley said. "All I can do is tell the people who have been supporting me now for 24 years of elective office what I believe and how strongly I feel about it."

Easley's support is also qualitatively different from that of other governors such as Rendell or Strickland who endorsed Clinton early and worked for her over a long period. Easley has only a week to make the case for her.

Easley called Clinton's chances here "a long shot."

'She is down'

"I know she is down in the polls significantly," Easley said. "But she hasn't been here much. I think when people hear her and see her, it's just very clear that she has the ability to deliver and deliver right away."

Easley said the endorsement was not tied to any hope of serving in a Clinton administration. He said he had no interest in a Cabinet post, suggesting that he is ready to re-enter private life when his term ends in January.

"When it comes to politics," Easley said, "I'm like the rat. I've had enough cheese. I just want to get out of the trap."

Easley and Clinton toured a biomanufacturing center on the NCSU campus before holding a joint rally at the McKimmon Center before more than 200 supporters.

Easley said that after Clinton's numerous political comebacks, she was tough enough for the presidency.

Referring to the come-from-behind boxer in the "Rocky" movies, Easley said, "This lady makes Rocky Balboa look like a pansy."