Hillary Clinton “makes Rocky Balboa look like a pansy,” said North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley today in his endorsement of Sen. Clinton.

“There’s a lot of ‘yes we can’ and ‘yes we should’ going around,” he said, taking what seemed to be a subtle jab at Obama. “Hillary Clinton is ready to deliver. That’s the difference.”

Politico is calling Easley a “potent symbol” who is popular among blue-collar voters and will help Clinton connect with those voters, while Barack Obama is busy shaking off claims of elitism. And some say Easley’s endorsement shows a vote of confidence that she can have a strong showing in North Carolina and conceivably earn the Democratic nomination:

“The governor clearly feels she can now pull this out,” said a prominent Clinton supporter. “He’s not doing it to be embarrassed in his own state. Governors don’t endorse for number two.”

Easley doesn’t bring the kind of field organization or financial base that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell gave Clinton’s Pennsylvania campaign, but he does carry a popular name and a symbolic validation of her central argument: That she, better than Obama, connects with the working-class white people who are traditional swing voters.

It should also be noted that Easley has already served two terms as governor and cannot seek re-election, so he doesn’t have to worry about alienating voters with his endorsement.

Something about that Politico piece left me wondering…

Easley is a meaningful ally in the culture war she’s waging against Senator Barack Obama, as she seeks to cast him as a hopelessly unelectable liberal elitist and to persuade the Democratic Party leaders who will decide the nomination - the “superdelegates” - to choose her instead.

If Clinton is more connected with the “average” voter and not elitist, why is she relying on the superdelegates’ votes to win the nomination? Aren’t many superdelegates considered to be the party “insiders” and “elite”? And why is Obama considered “elitist” when he’s won nearly every caucus - the most grassroots voting method of them all? Just asking…

Not to be outdone by Clinton, Obama snagged the endorsement of New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman yesterday, pulling ahead of Clinton in endorsements from fellow senators. Obama now has 14 endorsements from his peers, while Clinton has 13. He is also set to be endorsed today by Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler, who is the son of a former governor. Kentucky will hold its primary on May 20.