WASHINGTON -- Voters are crying out for more solar and wind energy -- but that doesn't mean they are opposed to drilling for more oil at the same time, according to a Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll.

The poll's findings suggest any political advantage Democrats or Republicans hope to get from the national debate over energy policy will depend on how skillfully they package their positions. Democrats have opposed expanded offshore drilling and stressed alternatives to oil. Republicans have called for expanding oil exploration to areas currently off limits. Leaders in both parties have begun scrambling for ground somewhere in the middle, where a big chunk of voters appear to stand.

According to the Journal-NBC poll, 72% of the respondents said developing alternative energy sources could "accomplish a great deal." When the question was asked another way, 61% of respondents chose "developing alternative energy sources" as the step that should receive the most emphasis from policy makers. Twenty-five percent responded that "exploring and drilling for oil" in the U.S. should get the most emphasis, and 12% picked "having Americans conserve and use less oil."

When asked whether expanding areas for drilling for oil off coastal states was a step in the right direction, 63% said it was, with 44% saying it would accomplish "a great deal." Only 27% said that allowing more drilling off coastal states was a step in "the wrong direction."

Asked about building more nuclear plants, 53% said it was a step in the right direction. Thirty-one percent said it was a step "in the wrong direction."