tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221545944710995423.post-84990761788278627742008-04-30T07:39:00.003-04:002008-04-30T07:58:51.373-04:00<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Mike Easley has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Will it matter? Maybe.<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Easley is not a power broker in the mold of a Jim Hunt or a Kerr Scott. In fact, many Democrats find "Governor Bubba" little more than amusing. He's widely criticized, even among Democrats, for being uninvolved, inattentive and, basically, lazy. He makes no secret of the fact that he doesn't enjoy the traditional political duties of  ribbon cutting, hand-shaking, back-slapping, brown-nosing, money-begging and all the rest. None of this suggests that he is not a "good guy" and an entertaining conversationalist and speaker. But his opinion doesn't carry the weight that a traditional politician's would.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>That said, the Easley endorsement has to be good news for the Clinton campaign, which is pulling out all the stops for the North Carolina primary. Hillary Clinton is touring all over the state (but it looks like she won't make it to Wilson). Chelsea Clinton has hit most of the college campuses around, and Bill Clinton is virtually camping out in North Carolina. You have to assume that the Clinton strategists know something. Despite a double-digit lead in the polls, Obama's support must be vulnerable, at least in the Clintonistas' view.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This might be the thinking: If Clinton can defeat Obama here, in a state he was expected to win in a walk, it could start a stampede of superdelegates, who will ultimately decide the nomination. Obama has to win North Carolina, and he badly needs a win in Indiana, which is also voting on Tuesday.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Easley endorsement came on a bad week for Obama, who was forced to disavow the continuing racist, radical rhetoric of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. In Winston-Salem yesterday, Obama made his strongest denunciation yet of Wright, calling his fantastical claim of a government HIV conspiracy against blacks "disgusting." The repudiation might eventually help Obama, but again reminding voters of Wright's views won't help in the short term.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The two big endorsements in North Carolina haven't happened. Neither former presidential candidate John Edwards nor former Gov. Jim Hunt has endorsed. In Wilson Monday, Obama praised Hunt at considerable length as Hunt and his wife sat in the crowd at Beddingfield High School. But no endorsement was forthcoming. As for Edwards, Clinton's pledge to appoint a "poverty czar" sounds like an appointment tailor-made for Edwards, but so far he hasn't taken the bait.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>For now, Clinton will have to settle for Easley's endorsement. For what it's worth.<br /></div>Hal Tarletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10736629619718340570noreply@blogger.com