Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge was trying to talk to a small group several days ago about his bill to curb energy market manipulation. His Republican challenger, Dan Mansell, kept interrupting, saying more drilling and more oil refineries -- not more regulation -- were needed.

"I'm sorry he is such an angry young man," Etheridge told a handful of people at the T.R. Lee Gas Station, which has been a Main Street landmark in Clayton since 1956.

"I'm angry about the energy costs," shot back Mansell, who is 52.

Gas stations have replaced barbecue joints on the political circuit. With gas prices rising above $4 per gallon in many places, political candidates are scrambling to show voters that they feel their pain at the pump. There are calls for investigations, offshore drilling, new mileage standards, tax breaks for hybrids, and federal gas-tax holidays.

Candidates from the two parties have offered markedly different responses.

Republican candidates, including presidential hopeful John McCain, North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole and GOP gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory, are calling for the end of the 27-year ban on oil and gas exploration off the Atlantic Coast, including North Carolina. On Thursday, the state Senate released a statement calling for offshore drilling.

"I think we are hypocritical, if you drove a car to get here, to say we should not have offshore or deep-sea explorations, because what you are really saying is: 'I'm willing to take oil from some place except my own backyard,' " McCrory said Monday.

The Democrats, including presidential candidate Barack Obama, U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan and gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue, oppose offshore oil drilling.

"North Carolina's coast is in Hurricane Alley and has been called the Graveyard of the Atlantic for a reason," said Perdue, who is from the coastal town of New Bern. "I haven't seen anything that proves to me that drilling there can be done safely or bring down oil prices."

Experts say that despite all the rhetoric, most of the proposals being discussed on the campaign trail -- no matter how meritorious -- will have little effect on gas prices in the foreseeable future.

"The political debate is a bit misinformed," said Ken Medlock, an economist and energy expert at Rice University in Houston.

Would drilling help?

Medlock said it would be years before motorists would see any advantage at the pump from offshore oil drilling. And he said critics were exaggerating the environmental risks of drilling, citing studies showing that offshore platforms were far safer than the oil tankers now being used to transport oil.

"The only thing we can do is change our own habits," Medlock said. "Conservation is the most powerful tool we have for the long term."

North Carolina's political leadership had by and large opposed drilling off the state's 300-mile coastline, which is among the most ecologically fragile and least industrialized in the country. Democrats such as Govs. Mike Easley and Jim Hunt and Republicans such as Dole and Congressman Walter Jones opposed undersea oil exploration.

Several oil companies obtained leases to explore off the North Carolina coast in the early 1980s, but they didn't drill before the federal ban took effect in 1990. The nearest leases were about 40 miles east of the Outer Banks, the area most promising for exploration.

But public opinion has begun to change as gas prices have risen to levels that would have been almost unimaginable just a few years ago.

Jennifer Langley, a stay-at-home mother of two in Clayton, said she is paying $115 to $120 to fill up her Suburban -- about double the cost a year ago. She said she is cutting back on trips and carefully planning her errands to cut down on mileage.

"I try not to drive," Langley said. "I am more careful and preplan a little bit."

Jerry Dodson of Clayton said the $130 to $140 it takes to fill up his pickup truck has sharply cut into the profits of his business, servicing printing equipment. He said his wife, who works in Cary, might try to find a job closer to home because of the expense of commuting.

Shift toward drilling

North Carolinians support offshore drilling by more than a 2-1 majority, according a poll conducted last week by Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh polling firm with Democratic ties. The survey found that 54 percent support drilling, 26 percent oppose it, and 20 percent are not certain. Other polls have shown even greater support.

National polls show similar support.

McCain, the Arizona senator and presumptive GOP presidential nominee, came out in favor of offshore exploration last month, and President Bush soon followed.

The reaction from coastal governors has been mixed. Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican from Florida, voiced support for lifting the ban. But Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California -- which had a major oil spill off Santa Barbara in 1969 -- opposed it.

Easley, whose principal residence is in the coastal town of Southport, also opposed drilling.

Dole changes tune

Dole had been an opponent of offshore drilling since 2002. But in recent days she announced her support for a bill that would allow drilling beyond 50 miles from the shorelines in return for a share in the revenue. She said the spiraling cost of gas caused her to rethink the positions.

"I believe the state of North Carolina should have the option to open offshore areas to energy exploration as long as it is safe, clean and not visible from the land," Dole said.

Hagan, Dole's Democratic opponent, opposes drilling, saying it would hurt the state's $16.5 billion tourism business, and even the state's military bases.

"Elizabeth Dole has continued to do Big Oil and Gas' bidding at every turn," said Hagan, who has campaigned at gas stations in Raleigh and in Wilmington.

Meanwhile, a liberal independent group has begun airing ads attacking Dole for being too cozy with big oil.

Majority Action, a 527 group started in 2005 with help from investor George Soros, spent $25,000 to $30,000 airing radio ads statewide last week that highlight Dole's record on gas-related issues.

McCrory, the Charlotte mayor who until recently was a Duke Energy executive, said drilling could be done safely and out of sight. He argued that it could be a boon to Eastern North Carolina, providing numerous jobs for an area that has struggled economically. He also said it could help the state finance other programs. He is proposing that 37 percent of the revenue go to North Carolina.

McCrory tried to walk a fine line, saying that while he is for offshore drilling, he also favors conservation measures. He notes that he has been a longtime backer of mass transit.

"I told the political right they were dead wrong on issues like mass transit," McCrory said. "I say to the political left that I think they are dead wrong in not supporting offshore exploration, nuclear power, wind power, all the alternatives."

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