John McCain at the tender age of 429.

U.S. Sen. John McCain went full-speed ahead yesterday in fleshing out his evolving national energy policies in front of the Las Vegas Republican faithful. But when a CityLife reporter tried to call him on his bullshit, the conductor of the Straight Talk Express quickly slammed on the brakes.

Decrying our national addiction to foreign oil and the looming specter of global warming, McCain crowed at UNLV yesterday morning about why his new energy policies are vital to national security, about his call for 45 new nuclear plants by 2030 and about how tax incentives help spawn alternative fuel development. He forgot to mention he missed two votes in December 2007 that would have extended tax credits to renewable energies like solar power, a burning business in the Silver State.

When a CityLife reporter tried to corner McCain later that afternoon at his shiny, new campaign headquarters in Henderson, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee turned on his heel, hiding behind a wall of hulking, Secret Service flesh. It went like this: “Senator, how can you come to Nevada and talk about responsible energy policy, when your national co-chairman and chief economic adviser, former Texas senator Phil Gramm and his wife, Wendy, helped push through energy deregulation, which, in turn, led directly to the Enron meltdown and to Nevada Power’s record profits since 2000?”

His smile and outstretched hand dropped, as he, almost intuitively, began working other, more faithful swaths of the crowd. Later, as the same reporter went outside to wait for him by his Secret Service motorcade, McCain snuck out a side door, avoiding those pesky members of the press who might want to ask him more stuff.

Senator, if you ever have the balls to head back to Vegas, I’ll be there, waiting. You’ll be able to spot me by my notepad, my sense of righteous indignation … and my brand-new Phil Gramm T-shirt.