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Tiffany Brown
President Barack Obama speaks at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 27, 2009.
Published Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | 1:41 p.m.
Updated Thursday, May 28, 2009 | midnight
Obama Speaks At Nellis
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diggPresident Barack Obama delivers remarks about solar energy and the economy at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.
WASHINGTON — Vegas just got a new slogan.
Right there in an otherwise policy-wonkish speech this morning, President Barack Obama delivered a one-liner to make civic boosters proud.
“There's nothing like a quick trip to Vegas in the middle of the week,” the president said.
No apology over what had been said before about the city. No dwelling over what was being said now.
Just a single sentence nod to a budding relationship both parties would like to preserve.
From then on, it was all business. Obama highlighted the first 100 days of the economic recovery act and the power of solar at the Western hemisphere’s largest solar installation at Nellis Air Force Base.
The president has drawn all shades of ire since he said in February that companies receiving corporate bailout funds shouldn’t go to Las Vegas on the taxpayers’ dime. The comment trailed him throughout this week’s visit.
But in a little more than a dozen words, the president offered a fitting coda to this chapter of the Obama-Vegas story. And a new tagline for Vegas.
But at a Wednesday press conference, Mayor Oscar Goodman said he was "disappointed" that although he came close, President Barack Obama on his trip here declined to say exactly what he wanted him to say: that Las Vegas is a terrific place to conduct business and hold conventions.
Goodman said he had asked Obama, during Tuesday's meet-n-greet at McCarran International Airport, to express those precise sentiments as a way to rectify the damage Goodman and others claimed the president's recent remarks did to the region's business trade.
"He knew what I wanted him to say...and the magic words didn't come out," said Goodman.
But the mayor added that Obama's visit and his more broad pro-Vegas comment has put the mini-flap to rest. "I think we can call it a day," he said.
Nice to see he didn't do it on the taxpayer's dime. He did it on the taxpayers million dollars.
dont waste my tax money coming to Vegas
Yeah! Obama should totally follow the example of his predecessor, who never, ever used Air Force One to fly to Las Vegas for something as crass as a political fundraiser.
Oh, wait... Bush did that several times.
My bad. I completely forgot -- it's only "wasteful spending" if a Democrat does it. If a Republican does it, it's all cool.
Sorry. Please carry on.
"it's only "wasteful spending" if a Democrat does it. If a Republican does it, it's all cool." No, it's just totally hypocritical, which is, typical.
Lots of opinions - lots of heat - little light - I mean more darkness. Ok, so folks are going to do business and it is the Democrats turn to be stupid - they have a high bar to match W. It is time for folks to be generous and do what needs to be done so we can all get along. You know, and so that we can live long and prosper!!
Congratulations, Las Vegans, your president really made you all look like a bunch of rubes. First, he does his level best to discourage companies from taking trips to Las Vegas, then flies out there on the taxpayers dime to help Harry Reid take YOUR money without so much as a "sorry about that earlier comment." And you can't hand it over fast enough.
Sheesh!
It's really tragic that news organizations allow such low-road utterances to dominate their comment boxes. Rather than offering readers and viewers golden opportunities for civil and thoughtful dialog, almost without exception, these comment areas are little more than sewer plant drive-bys. Are our corporate-dominated news media simply resorting to "news as carnival" to attract eye-balls? It's no wonder newspaper readership has fallen off a cliff.
It's called free speech, CarsonNewsHound.
Actually, CarsonNewsHound, we all meet on the strip, enjoy a bunch of drinks and other people's smoke and plan our attacks on each other like good ol' professional wrestling stars.
I voted for Obama and I will vote for him again. If their were a third term I would vote for him again!
CarsonNewshound,
Of course, you do make a good point: what a waste of potential! These golden opportunities are clearly squandered on selfish (even pin-headed) motives based around selfish wants. It's more of a rant space than a place for logical discourse.
The tragedy is that we are capable of so much better dialogue and more positive discussion, but it must be something deep in our psyche that drives us to the low road where in despair, we launch into tirades, call idiots idiots and stand our political ground with a vengeance.
I completely agree with your sentiment that newspaper readership is taking a hit; now all the unemployed reporters are online shooting off their frustrated yaps.
Oh my gosh... will people get over it please. I mean there are far more pressing issues involving this country and the world for that matter then one random person's perception of Las Vegas! VEGAS WILL BE FINE!!!!! People have said far worse things, especially worse then a petty comment about companies taking "junkets" after receiving bailout monies.
"Yeah! Obama should totally follow the example of his predecessor, who never, ever used Air Force One to fly to Las Vegas for something as crass as a political fundraiser.
Oh, wait... Bush did that several times.
My bad. I completely forgot -- it's only "wasteful spending" if a Democrat does it. If a Republican does it, it's all cool."
Hmmm yeah that President McSmirky always said don't spend taxpayer money going to X before he spent taxpayer money going to X. Exactly the same between the two Presidents.
"There's nothing like a quick trip to Vegas in the middle of the week," Hey LV Convention Authority Are You Listening? This could be the next promotion for Las Vegas! Forget the "What Happens in Vegas" campaign, it is played out anyway. We need to go for the Ditch Tuesdays thru Friday sort of crowd.
it still amazes me how people show up to see politicians.
"The Messiah Comes To Sin City!" I like the promotional potential of it!!!
A few simple-minded people who are brainwashed by the local hate-talk radio station (the one where they contend that WMD was found in Iraq and Obama is a Commie, etc.) made a big to do about one sentence Obama said about Vegas, now they are saying he is wasting money coming here...they are just sore losers and wimps
...I tried to bet a couple of these hate-talkers (the one that used to command a cardboard spaceship on TV and talks tough...and the one that is a bug-killer when he's not on the air) $1000 that their man McCain would lose, and they were both too chicken to bet...even for charity
..that's because they knew MCCain was a loser, just like Bush. I tried to bet the cue-ball space ship guy that Senator Reid will be re-elected and his call screener said "we can't take bets on they air" and hung up. I wasn't on the air, I live in Nevada like this has-been actor, and last time I checked betting was legal here. So once again they show themselves to be cowards, knowing full well Reid will be re-elected. It was a first class fund-raiser.
Let's see now ... it is a waste of taxpayer dollars for banks to come to LV to reward top performers.
It is not a waste of taxpayer dollars for the U. S. to reward the perpetrator of the largest Ponzi Scheme in world history by flying him on Air Force One so he could stump for Hairless Reid?