Lieberman: 'Put the Brakes' on Nuclear Power

As Japan struggles to avoid a nuclear meltdown following its massive earthquake and tsunami, Sen. Joe Lieberman thinks it might be time to stop permitting new nuclear power plants in the US, Politico reports. "I think we've got to kind of quietly—quickly put the brakes on until we can absorb what has happened in Japan … and then see what more, if anything, we can demand of the new power plants that are coming on line," he said on Face the Nation. Elsewhere on the Sunday dial:

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, begs to differ: "I don’t think right after a major environmental catastrophe is a very good time to be making American domestic policy," said McConnell, long a supporter of nuclear power, on Fox News Sunday.

• Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Schumer weighed in on the growing possibility of a no-fly zone over Libya. "The president’s handling it very well—not taking a military option off the table, but being careful," Schumer said on Meet the Press. "The Arab League, NATO will get on board. And I think it makes a no-fly zone much more likely to happen, shortly.”
• But back on Fox News Sunday, Mitch McConnell wouldn’t endorse a no-fly zone. “I don’t think I’m going to reach a conclusion in the middle of this conflict,” he said. “That is why we have an administration, a secretary of state, a secretary of defense. I know they're on top of this and monitoring it. I look forward to what their recommendations are."
• One last tidbit from McConnell: Who’s to blame for the rising gas prices? In his opinion, President Obama. "This administration has been shutting down wells,” he said. “It has been a conscious effort to make it difficult to drill in this country, both on shore and offshore, by the bureaucrats who have been appointed by this administration."

(More Sunday morning talk shows stories.)