‘Blah, blah, blah’

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has said he would support the use of Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the dump site for the nation’s high-level nuclear waste. That is one of many reasons why Nevadans should vote for Democratic opponent Barack Obama, who has said he would kill the repository plan.

At a campaign stop Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, 1,300 miles away from Southern Nevada, McCain continued to show that he doesn’t care about Nevada. He did so by mocking Obama’s concerns about how to safely store spent nuclear fuel, something McCain brought up during their last debate.

“We talked about nuclear power,” McCain said. “Well, it has to be safe environment(ally), blah, blah, blah.” That dismissive response, which drew cheers and applause from Iowans at this McCain rally, showed just how out of touch McCain is with the majority of Nevadans, who steadfastly oppose the dump. If the federal government had instead planned for the dump to be in Arizona, McCain’s home state, do you think he would have taken Obama’s remarks so lightly?

McCain’s nuclear power response is symbolic of a campaign that has never embraced the deep thought and creative ideas Americans demand in this general election. Instead, McCain has resorted to shallow catchphrases, name-calling and other negative attacks to appeal to an ever dwindling base of support.

There is nothing funny or trite about nuclear waste. No one in their right mind would want to live anywhere near a radioactive dump or along any of the routes that would be used to transport the deadly material. Why should Nevadans, who are concerned about the future of this state, support a candidate who cares so little about their well-being?