Editorial: NRC nomination calls for political hardball

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003 | 8:56 a.m.

We support a bipartisan approach to problem solving but occasionally an issue cries out for old-fashioned political hardball. Sen. Harry Reid is playing hardball regarding a vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will decide whether to license Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository.

Reid wants the president to appoint Greg Jaczko, who holds a doctorate's degree in particle physics and who has been the senator's science adviser for two years. The Bush administration, without the courtesy of an explanation, rejected Jaczko. Reid is retaliating by vowing to hold up Bush's nominations for administrative posts, including Bush's nomination of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but Nevada is a small state that has had the odds stacked against it right from the first day that Yucca Mountain was chosen as a potential site. Reid's choice of Jaczko is fair and should be respected. Jaczko has built a reputation that extends beyond his scientific credentials -- he is known for his bipartisan political philosophy. It's too bad the Bush administration hasn't embraced this admirable trait.