Nevadans hold clout in election

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | midnight

Nevadans, like other Americans, are ready for a change in Washington.

That was illustrated in recent days in Clark County as voters turned out in huge numbers to begin the early-voting period that runs through Oct. 31 and precedes the Nov. 4 general election.

On the first day of early voting, Oct. 18, more than 25,000 people cast ballots, shattering the previous record of 14,204 set in 2004.

Further showing a major change is in the works, 62 percent of those voting Oct. 18 and 58 percent Oct. 19 were Democrats. Compare that to four years ago, when the best the Democrats could do was capture 46 percent of the voters on any given day of early voting.

The Democratic Party's voter registration program has been a spectacular success in Nevada, bringing to the voting booths many minorities and young people who otherwise would have sat out the election.

This is shaping up to be the most important election in a generation. Perhaps not since 1980, when Ronald Reagan ushered in his conservative revolution by ousting Jimmy Carter, have voters so clearly expressed their dislike of the status quo.

Citizens are demanding change and whoever wins the White House must accept and follow through on this mandate.

Nevada is in a unique position to influence this mandate. Despite polls showing Barack Obama ahead here, some national pollsters feel John McCain still has a shot in Nevada. George W. Bush, after all, carried the state in 2000 and 2004.

With Nevada in the position of perhaps swinging the election to one candidate or another, it's important that voters closely examine the candidates' records and pay extra attention when they, their running mates and supporters come through the state during the final days of the campaign.

Voters must decide which candidate is best qualified to deal with the economic crisis and how they will act on issues of importance to Nevadans, such as the proposed storage of the nation's nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden spelled out an aggressive economic reform plan during his Oct. 17 rally in Henderson. And Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin offered a spirited pitch for McCain and his commitment to equality for women during her visit to Henderson on Oct. 21.

We were disappointed that neither candidate talked about Yucca Mountain while they were in Nevada. But both camps have made clear their positions.

Obama has consistently opposed Yucca Mountain because, as Nevadans have long argued, the Yucca plan doesn't pass the sound-science test.

McCain, on the other hand, opposes the transportation of nuclear waste through his home state of Arizona and specifically through Phoenix; but he is happy to see this radioactive garbage shipped through Las Vegas and dumped in the Nevada desert.

Voters who have yet to decide between Obama and McCain should now carefully weigh the issues, including the candidates' competing economic proposals and their sharply different opinions on Yucca Mountain.