McCain leading Obama

Polls conducted since the political conventions show Republican John McCain in the lead in the presidential race in Nevada.

A Zogby International poll of 572 likely Nevada voters conducted last Tuesday through Friday found McCain getting 50.1 percent of the vote to Democrat Barack Obama's 42.5 percent. The online survey carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points, and its result convinced the pollster to change the state from purple to red on the electoral map.

"We're turning it red for now," states a note on the poll on Zogby's Web site. "McCain is close to 50 percent, and he now holds a seven-point lead."

Another pollster, Rasmussen Reports, still rates Nevada a toss-up, with a new poll that has McCain favored but within the margin of error.

Rasmussen's automated telephone poll, conducted Thursday, found 49 percent of Nevada voters supporting McCain and 46 percent for Obama. The firm's August poll also had McCain ahead, 45 percent to 42 percent.

Both results are within the 4 point margin of error of the survey of 700 likely voters. They appear to show McCain maintaining a slim lead as more voters make up their minds with the election nearing.

Fifty-eight percent of Nevadans had a favorable view of McCain in the poll, while 53 percent viewed Obama favorably. Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was viewed favorably by 54 percent; Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden was seen in a favorable light by 52 percent.

A third recent poll of 518 likely voters statewide found an even tighter race. Conducted Wednesday, the InsiderAdvantage/Poll Position survey put McCain ahead, 46 percent to 45 percent, with a 4.2 point margin of error in either direction.

Obama drew 59 percent of the Hispanic vote in that poll to McCain's 38 percent, while McCain led among independents, 45 percent to 40 percent.

Most analysts are expecting a close finish on Election Day. In 2004, President Bush won Nevada by 2.6 points.

GOP GRUMBLES

Some Republicans are growing unhappy with Sen. John Ensign's blunt talk about the party's chances in U.S. Senate races this fall.

Ever since the Nevadan took over chairmanship of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he has acknowledged the GOP faces long odds to success. Republicans have 23 Senate seats to defend, almost double that of Democrats.

Republicans have been saddled with an unpopular president, key retirements and unfortunate surprises like the indictment of veteran Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's arrest in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis airport.

The NRSC also has been unable to match energized Democrats in fundraising. Through July, the GOP committee has $25.4 million available to spend while its Democratic counterpart has $42.9 million.

Only lately have the emergence of popular vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the resurgence of John McCain's presidential campaign given Republicans some hope.

Ensign has scolded fellow Republican senators for not opening their wallets wide enough to help in Senate races. He's also said he would consider it a success if Republicans only lose four Senate seats on election night.

Last month, Ensign put out a news release saying he had to cut back on television ad buys because Republican senators were not coming through.

That may have been what prompted a report this week in Politico, the campaign and politics newspaper and Web site, where Ensign was a target for criticism.

One Republican senator was quoted calling Ensign a "defeatist" while other GOPers said the Nevadan may be hurting his chances to climb the party leadership ladder.

None of the critics were identified by name.

Ensign declined to comment on the criticism. He has said in the past he just "told the truth," and was being realistic.

While the timing may have been coincidental, someone at the NRSC leaked an internal spreadsheet showing only 13 Republican senators had met their fundraising goals.

The most successful fundraiser? Ensign, who raised more than $9 million.

Ensign's defenders said the Nevadan stepped up and took a job that nobody else wanted. Most everyone knew this was going to be a thankless year for the Republicans.

I HARRY

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may not have many fans on the Republican side of the aisle, but he has a big supporter in Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.

The member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was in Las Vegas this week to discuss the musical score he co-wrote for the renovation of The Mirage volcano.

He said his friendship with Reid goes back to 1991, when he testified in front of a Senate subcommittee Reid was chairing on aging matters.

Hart said Reid helped Hart gain $1 million in federal money for the study of music therapy.

"Harry kick-started the whole musical therapy thing in the West," Hart said. "Harry is a visionary, even back to 1991."

'DUMP, BABY, DUMP'

Could Rep. Shelley Berkley get the plan to store radioactive waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain branded as an example of pork-barrel politics?

In news releases last week, Berkley blasted the project as a "$100 billion ... pile of radioactive pork," and "John McCain's 'Nuclear Bridge to Nowhere,'" a reference to the proposed $400 million bridge to Ketchikan, Alaska, that became a potent symbol of wasteful federal spending in recent years.

The bridge controversy has been reignited by McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has been claiming on the stump that she opposed the project to bolster her credentials as a reformer.

But the claim has been largely discredited by critics who note that Palin actually supported the bridge until it became politically radioactive, so to speak.

Berkley also riffed on Republicans' chants of "drill, baby, drill" at their convention, saying the push for Yucca resembles the drive for offshore oil drilling.

"Democrats want Nevada to be a leader in clean energy, Republicans want to make Nevada a trash can for the nuclear industry," Berkley said in a news release.

"They have one goal -- dump, baby, dump -- and they cannot wait to get toxic radioactive waste to Nevada given the chance."

The Department of Energy has estimated that the Yucca project could run to $96.2 billion. McCain supports the repository, which he says can be made safe, while Obama has said he would stop it.

Review-Journal writer Howard Stutz contributed to this report. Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.