The New York Times editorial page takes the Obama Administration to task for not “following the science” on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

The administration’s budget for the Energy Department raises a disturbing question. Is President Obama, who has pledged to restore science to its rightful place in decision making, now prepared to curtail the scientific analyses needed to determine whether a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada would be safe to build? . . .

We have no idea whether Yucca Mountain would be a suitable burial ground for nuclear wastes. But after the government has labored for more than two decades and spent almost $10 billion to get the site ready for licensing hearings, it would be foolish not to complete the process with a good-faith evaluation. Are Mr. Obama and Mr. Reid afraid of what the science might tell them?

Surely the NYT editorial writers understand presidential politics and how well the Yucca Mountain issue played in Nevada, which happened to go for Obama in the 2008 election. Are we now at a point where, whenever possible, political differences are to be instantaneously mapped onto questions of science?