Northern Nevada Democrats accuse president of lying on Yucca Mountain

RENO, Nev. (AP) - On the eve of George W. Bush's first visit to northern Nevada, Democrats again accused the Republican president of lying about a southern Nevada issue - Yucca Mountain.

"President Bush came to Nevada four years ago and he lied," Chris Wicker, chairman of the Washoe County Democratic Party said at a news conference on Thursday.

"He said it was based on sound science and he lied."

A handful of Democrats spoke out to reporters and television crews a day before Bush was scheduled to tout a booming economy and national security at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

The Democrats, along with opponents of the war in Iraq and foes of the Patriot Act said they planned to be on hand outside Friday's visit by the president.

In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Bush-Cheney campaign chairman Marc Racicot said he didn't know whether Bush's support for a high-level nuclear waste dump in southern Nevada would figure in tightening his race against the expected Democratic nominee, John Kerry, who opposes the dump.

Racicot said the president has been entirely honest with Nevadans about Yucca Mountain. In the 2000 campaign, Bush said he would base his decision on "sound science" and not politics. Racicot said the president lived up to that promise.