Nevada gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus, left, stands with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson during a Democratic fundraiser last week at Dona Maria Tamales Restaurant on Las Vegas Boulevard. Photo by Ralph Fountain. Jimmy Carter waves to a crowd last week at Freedom Park, where the former president filled in at a campaign rally for his ailing son, Jack, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

If there's any two-word phrase that makes many Nevadans shudder, it's "energy secretary."

That's why some were wondering whether New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson would have a hard time when he came to stump in the Silver State last week. Richardson, a Democrat considered a possible presidential contender, was energy secretary under President Clinton for two years.

With Nevada the new site of an early 2008 Democratic caucus, potential candidates, who've already started to stream through town, know they'll be asked about their stance on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, administered by the federal Energy Department.

The Yucca project didn't start under Richardson, but it didn't stop, either. But Richardson in an interview said he acted to stall the project, which he said he has always opposed.

"I'm the one who made sure it didn't happen during my tenure," he said. "I basically stated that, because of the water issue and other deficiencies, it shouldn't happen. My record is good on that. I ordered an investigation into the effort to speed it up."

Richardson added jocularly, "No, you can get me on a lot of things, but you can't get me on that." Asked what he could be gotten on, he replied, "Nothing."

CARTER FILLS IN FOR CARTER

Also headlining in Las Vegas last week was former President Jimmy Carter, who flew in to attend to his ailing son, U.S. Senate challenger Jack Carter. The former president filled in for the Democratic candidate at some campaign events.

In the years since he left office, Jimmy Carter has become a renowned international diplomat, earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

In an interview last week, the peacemaker was asked what he would do about two of the stickiest international situations, the war in Iraq and Israel's recent altercation with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Carter said he would "get the government in Iraq to ask us to leave in a certain period of time, I would say maximum within a year, and have them handle their own problem. Then I would convene a global conference of people possibly crucial to the future of Iraq -- the Arab states, the (European Union), Japan and others -- and say, 'What can we do to give these people what they haven't had in five years?'

"They still don't have electricity. They still don't have sewage. They still don't have running water. The schools are not functioning. The whole place is a disaster. A lot of the violence in Iraq, I believe, is because of the animosity created by American troops being there."

Carter also was strongly critical of American policy on Israel and again recommended convening a summit.

"The main thing we need to do is get the United States reinvolved in the process," he said. "This is the first time since Israel became a nation that our country is not avidly trying to bring Israel and her neighbors together in a peace effort. There is no effort at all now being made, and there has not been a single international conference between Israel and her neighbors in the last five years with the United States acting as a broker."

Asked whether that approach constituted negotiating with terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, the Palestinian group that won a majority in recent elections, Carter said, "You have to negotiate with the people that are causing the problem. As a matter of fact, yes, we need to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization).

"The PLO is not controlled by Hamas or anyone else," he added. "The United States has still not been willing to let the PLO under Mahmoud Abbas negotiate with Israel for five years. You can't just keep subjecting an entire people, the Palestinians, and not permitting them to have an honest broker or opportunity for peace and justice and expect the violence to decrease."

President Carter will be back next week to campaign for his son.

REID LEADS IN NEWS RELEASES

For the first seven months of this year, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada cranked out 488 news releases, more than any other senator, according to National Journal.

Reid's closest competitor was Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who issued 435 news releases on her Web site, including 28 in one day.

Clinton and three other senators who cracked the top 10 are running for re-election this year.

Figures were not available on Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., but he was not listed among the top 10, which included five Democrats and five Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., ranked seventh with 308.

Overall, the Senate produced 13,069 news releases, or an average of 131 per senator.

Reid spokesman Jon Summers said it makes sense Reid would send more news releases than other senators because of his leadership position.

"Senator Reid will continue to send news releases as he deems necessary to communicate with Nevada residents and promote Democratic priorities in the Senate," Summers said.

Summers is one of Reid's nine communications staffers.

TREASURER HOPEFUL HAS IDEAS

Kate Marshall, Democratic nominee for state treasurer, has unveiled a seven-point plan she said would improve the treasurer's office.

Marshall said she would implement electronic money transfers, replacing the state's current method of transporting cash by armored car; try to negotiate lower service fees with credit card companies, which she said cost the state $3 million a year for the Department of Motor Vehicles alone; use online auctions to sell off the state's unclaimed property; improve the Unclaimed Properties Division's Web site, which she said is cumbersome; review all the office's contracts and agreements to see what could be done more cost effectively; and use unclaimed assets to issue bonds that would be used for academic research grants.

Marshall also said she would work with the Legislature to ensure the Millennium Scholarship is protected.

The last item is particularly politicized.

Marshall said she believes applicants for the scholarship should provide Social Security numbers, viewed as a way to keep it out of the hands of illegal immigrants. Current Treasurer Brian Krolicki, a Republican, proposed such a change unsuccessfully.

Marshall also said she would consider raising the required grade-point average or instituting a means test to further limit recipients of the scholarship, which many believe is causing high-school grade inflation that lets less-qualified students get a free ride.

ADULT FILM STAR PARTIES ON

Remember Melody Damayo? Also known as Mimi Miyagi, the former adult film star ran for Nevada governor as a Republican.

Damayo managed to parlay her dubious celebrity into plenty of headlines but just 1 percent of the vote, a total of 1,651 votes statewide.

Damayo said she was a Republican because she believed in, among other things, "freedom to party." So perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising that she's switched to a party that's perhaps the most pro-freedom.

According to Clark County election records, Damayo is now a registered Libertarian.

Stephens Washington Bureau writer Tony Batt contributed to this report. Contact political reporter Molly Ball at 387-2919 or MBall@reviewjournal.com.