The federal government's plans for shipping plutonium to South Carolina have given Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges a dream issue - a chance to buck Washington, to champion the environment, and to practice a highway blockade.

Some Republicans, including Attorney General Charlie Condon, accuse Hodges of grandstanding in an election year. They point to a television ad Hodges' campaign is showing touting the governor's tough stance.

The ad is being televised during the throes of the Republican gubernatorial primary campaign.

The plutonium issue has divided the seven Republicans seeking to replace Hodges.

They either can back the federal government or back the man they're trying to oust.

Some, such as Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler, are closely aligned with President Bush and say the feds would not ship plutonium to Aiken's Savannah River nuclear site without a clear plan to ship it out. Still, they back a congressional agreement that would set deadlines and assess penalties if plutonium is stored here too long.

Others, such as Secretary of State Jim Miles, are saying Hodges is right.

Like Hodges, they want a court-sanctioned agreement before the Department of Energy ships any plutonium. Shipments had been scheduled to start as early as May 15, but have been pushed back at least until June 15 - after a June 13 court hearing on Hodges' lawsuit against the Department of Energy.

The agency wants to ship plutonium to SRS for conversion into a fuel for nuclear power plants. But facilities to convert the material have not been built. Hodges said he fears the plutonium will arrive, the facilities won't be built, and the material will be stored at SRS for years.

He wants an agreement filed in federal court that requires the federal government to ship the material out of the state.

Condon, a Republican running for governor, said he agrees with Hodges. But he also said he is disappointed in him.

Condon said he has written Hodges and called him, offering his support and his staff attorneys' help. Hodges has not responded.

Condon said Hodges' TV commercial confirms that the governor is using plutonium for politics.

"He's so anxious to have it as a political issue that if there are good solutions out there, I'm certain he wouldn't pursue them," Condon said.

Hodges' spokesman Morton Brilliant said the commercial was motivated by pragmatism, not politics. The commercial - paid for with $200,000 in campaign funds - urges concerned people to contact the DOE.

Included in the ad is footage from an exercise last month, when state officers practiced how they might block the roads to prevent trucks filled with plutonium from entering the state.

"It was the most convenient way to get the message to the people of South Carolina that Washington is trying to dump plutonium in South Carolina," Brilliant said.

Political scientist Neal Thigpen, of Francis Marion University, said Hodges is savvy to use plutonium in a campaign ad. "It keeps his name up and doesn't let these other guys crowd the field."

Hodges' advisers say he feels strongly about the issue. But they also acknowledge privately he has plenty to gain politically.

His adversaries? Not so much.

Political scientist Robert Botsch said candidates for statewide office gain popularity when they buck "government."

"If they look like Washington politicians or if they look like they're willing to accept the word of Washington, that's going to hurt them," said Botsch, of the University of South Carolina Aiken.

In a sense, Hodges can't lose, Botsch said.

"Even if the state doesn't get an agreement, even if Hodges failed, he still comes out looking good," Botsch said. "I can see people saying, 'At least he tried.'"

Hodges is following the model of former Gov. Cecil Andrus of Idaho, who twice used state police to block radioactive waste from entering the state. Ultimately, a settlement set deadlines for shipping out nuclear waste.

Governors should do what is right morally, Andrus said. If it helps them politically, so be it.

Andrus said his approval rating for blocking the borders was more than 80 percent.

"I thought there would be a hue and cry from the public" because of the economic risks and jobs involved, Andrus said. "But in fact, the opposite was true."

Reach Bauerlein at (803) 771-8485 or vbauerlein@thestate.com.