One of the most unattractive personality traits is hypocrisy. And it's even more offensive when it's displayed by a politician playing politics.

Public cynicism about politics only grows when officials' hypocrisy is on display. And, expressing moral certainty in two contradictory situations shines a bright light on political hypocrisy.

The latest display of that hypocrisy came in the past week when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., praised the Obama administration's decision to de-fund development of the Yucca Mountain national depository for nuclear waste, which is located in Nevada.

The project, which has been in development for two decades and already has consumed $9 billion in federal taxpayers' money, will see a dramatic drop-off in funding in Obama's 2010 budget.

Reid praised the action on his Web site and expressed hope that Yucca Mountain would never house the nation's nuclear waste now stored at power plants all over the country. Reid also has been quoted as saying that the federal government should not be able to dictate to the state of Nevada that it will host a nuclear waste storage facility.

When it comes to Yucca Montain, Reid clearly stands with states' rights to resist federal authority exercised in the interest of the entire country.

Reid's opposition to Yucca Mountain appears to be based more on a NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) mentality than on science. Would Reid oppose the project if it were located in another state, say Texas, home of former President Geroge W. Bush?

Reid says his arguments against the federal project are rooted in the belief that the federal government should not be able to override the desire of a state or its residents.

But Reid's position on Yucca Mountain is in stark contrast to his position on plans for new high-voltage power lines being planned by the federal government. In this case, Reid wants the new power lines, designed to carry electricity from renewable sources in sometimes-remote areas, to be placed where the federal government says they should be placed. When it comes to locating these new transmission lines, Reid argues that the federal government should "be able to override states" in locating the power lines.

But when it comes to the federal government deciding that Nevada's Yucca Mountain is the best location for safe, long-term storage of nuclear waste, Reid says the federal government should not have the authority. But when the people of Western Pennsylvania want to stop a 400-mile power line running from West Virginia coal country to New Jersey, Reid wants the feds to have the final say. Reid's hypocrisy is stunning, if not surprising.

And, Yucca Mountain also reveals another potential example of hypocrisy. President Barack Obama said, when repealing limitations placed on federal funding of embryonic stem cells — limitations put in place by the Bush administration —that his decisions would be based on science, not politics. Yet, it was science that concluded Yucca Mountain is the best site for storage of nuclear waste.

Was Obama's decision to defund Yucca Mountain based on politics — and maybe a deal with Reid to support future Obama initiatives — or was it based on new science?

Reid's conflicting positions illustrate just the sort of behavior that reinforces the public's negative view of politicians — and makes it harder for Obama to demonstrate that he is bringing change.