Editorial: Ashcroft’s answer speaks volumes

Friday, May 10, 2002 | 9:23 a.m.

Attorney General John Ashcroft deserves to be criticized for ducking a question Wednesday during his news conference at the George Federal Building in Las Vegas. It was a question central to the concerns of Nevadans and a question central to his whole stated purpose of visiting Nevada, which was to talk about the state's anti-terrorism efforts.

A reporter asked if nuclear waste transportation will be susceptible to terrorist attacks. The question was reasonable given Ashcroft's current position and his voting record as U.S. senator from Missouri. In 1997, for example, he voted in favor of sending the nation's nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain on an interim basis beginning in 1999 -- long before the site would be ready as a permanent facility.

Ashcroft's reply? "The matters related to Yucca Mountain are the subject of serious litigation in a number of settings." Therefore, no comment.

We don't always agree with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, but we can't argue with his reaction to Ashcroft's answer. "That was a cop-out," Goodman said. True enough. Reticence is the last refuge when there is no good answer.

AT ISSUE:

Attorney General John Ashcroft ducked a pertinent question on nuclear waste during his visit to Las Vegas.

OUR TAKE:

His lack of a response meant that he had no good answer.