Las Vegas To President Obama: Pretend We Don't Exist

People in Las Vegas and other Nevadans have just about had it with President Barack Obama invoking their city's name when he wants to make a point about wasteful spending.

They would like the president to just leave them out of it when he discusses profligacy because he's creating a bunch of negative associations they fear could harm tourism, keeping people from visiting Las Vegas where the locals would like to legally separate visitors from as much of their money as possible.

In Nashua, N.H. on Tuesday, for instance, Obama said this when making the case for fiscal responsibility at a town hall meeting:

Responsible families don't do their budgets the way the federal government does. Right? When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices. It's time your government did the same. (Applause.)

So far as I know, boat manufacturers have yet to complain bitterly.

But Nevadans have, especially since the president last year said companies getting taxpayer bailout money shouldn't then turn around and blow money on conferences in Las Vegas.

Obama's fellow Democrat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who odds makers are giving long odds on being re-elected, clearly wished Obama would come up with another way to illustrate intemperate spending and stop making new headaches for Searchlight, Nev.'s most famous native son who's capable of political missteps all by himself, thank you very much.

An excerpt from the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he spoke to the White House following Obama's comments.

"While the President is correct that people saving for college need to be fiscally responsible, the President needs to lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn't be spending their money," Reid said in a statement.

"Nevada is the nation's top destination for tourism and conventions," the statement continued. "It is more popular than any other place in the country, and for good reason: it's affordable, easy to get to from anywhere and the weather is perfect.

"To truly re-energize our economy, we need people to travel to Las Vegas. I would much rather tourists and business travelers spend their money in Las Vegas than spend it overseas."

 

In response, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman raised his voice repeatedly during a hastily arranged news conference in his office.

"I want to assure you when he comes I will do everything I can to give him the boot back to Washington and to visit his failures back there," Goodman said of Obama's pending visit later this month. Goodman said the visit is scheduled for Feb. 18.

When asked how a mayor could give the president "the boot," Goodman responded, "You tell him he is not really welcome in this city until he straightens this out."

Nevada, which went for Obama in 2008 after voting for President George W. Bush in the last two presidential elections, could very well be in play again when Obama runs for re-election.

So the White House, trying to shore up its fortunes as well as Reid's, tried to clean up the mess.

Another Review-Journal excerpt:

This afternoon, Obama sent a letter to Reid addressing the controversy.

It read: "I hope you know that during my Town Hall today, I wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas. I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun. There is no place better to have fun than Vegas, one of our country's great destinations. I have always enjoyed my visits, look forward to visiting in a few weeks, and hope folks will visit in record numbers this year."