While Mike Johanns toured central Nebraska, his opponent was in the capital city.

Scott Kleeb spoke Tuesday afternoon at Southeast Community College, and the Democratic Senate nominee said Washington isn't doing enough to develop alternative sources of energy.

Kleeb didn't mind pointing fingers. He accused Johanns of misrepresenting his stance on drilling off American shores.

With the pain at the pump, Americans are feeling these days, he feels it's important to set the record straight.

Kleeb was front and center Tuesday afternoon, sharing with SCC students and faculty his thoughts on offshore drilling.

"My opponent has made a big deal about trying to say that I don't believe in drilling, and I do, it's part of the equation. There are right now 64 million acres of lands that oil companies have, but they're choosing not to drill in those areas. We've got to drill in those areas," he said.

Kleeb said drilling off American shores could offer short term relief, but he's looking for a long term fix.

"We've got to get back to alternative energies of all sorts, and this is where we've really had no leadership at all on this issue and we can," he said.

Kleeb said government leaders need to explore wind, solar, nuclear and biofuels to prepare for the future.

"You know we spend more in this country on developing new kinds of cat food or pet food in general than we do on developing new sources of energy? It's ridiculous. We've got to change the way we deal with energy policy and show some real leadership on this," he said.

If Kleeb is going to get the chance to make a difference, he's got a lot of work to do. The latest polls show Kleeb trailing his Republican opponent by 26 points, but the democratic candidate remains optimistic

"We've out raised my opponent. We're actually going up on TV this week, so the campaign's goin' great. We've still got a long way to go in this campaign season, and I like actually where we're sitting," Kleeb said.

Monday night at the Custer County Fair, Kleeb did beat Johanns. Unfortunately, for him, it was in a cow milking contest.

If Kleeb is going to get the chance to make a change, he has a lot of ground to make up in the next three months. Johanns is leading Kleeb by 26 points in the latest general election polling numbers.

But Kleeb does have the support of the Nebraska AFL-CIO. Kleeb was in Omaha Tuesday afternoon to accept the endorsement. The union represents more than 48,000 Nebraska workers.