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John Katsilometes
Oscar Goodman closes the book on his mini-dustup with President Obama during a news conference in his City Hall office.
Published Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | 5:20 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | 7:22 p.m.
There’s a big difference between calling someone out and calling someone at home. Our mayor called out, in public, the president of the United States. When it came time for The White House to respond, Rahm Emanuel (not famous for his diplomatic skills in such circumstances) called Oscar Goodman at home.
And Barack Obama essentially showed that you don’t call out the president, even if the call-out morphs from a demand for an apology to a faint request for kind words. In watching this mini-drama unspool over the past three months, it became increasingly clear that Obama was going to play his trip to Las Vegas as if the flare-up stoked by Goodman (and, later, Nevada Gov. Ted Baxter) had never happened. At last night’s fundraiser for Sen. Harry Reid, Obama said it was great to be back in Las Vegas and joked about how his room had been upgraded since the election. During an appearance of the massive solar installation at Nellis Air Force Base today, Obama said, “There's nothing like a quick trip to Vegas in the middle of the week.” That’s true for the president of the United States or the president of any Kiwanis Club in the country. Regardless, Obama was saying that visiting Vegas in the middle of the week is great, and showed that by actually visiting Vegas in the middle of the week. To do business.
Goodman acknowledged that today at a hastily assembled news conference at his City Hall office. Yet he said he was still “disappointed” Obama didn’t use the words Goodman wanted, saying Obama ran the ball “95 yards but came up short of the goal line,” making Obama the first president to be compared to, I don’t know, Gale Sayers, in this case. What Goodman said he was after was a sentence that would have featured prominently the words “business” and “conventions” -- that Las Vegas is a great place to conduct business and hold conventions. But by specifying those words to be said by the president, and doing so in public and again yesterday during a meet-and-greet at McCarran, Goodman guaranteed they wouldn’t be said. Obama doesn’t need to look like he’s caving in, for no sensible reason, to the mayor of Las Vegas. Repeatedly, Goodman has defended the method of complaint - a formal letter to Obama and airing his concerns in public -- because as mayor, he is chairman of the board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. It is his duty to protect the city’s convention business, he feels, but when the president seemed to damage that business with off-the-cuff comments in February, Goodman took on a demeanor that reminded of one of his Mob clients. Tony the Ant, maybe. He demanded an apology, saying he was “hotter than fish grease,” then backed off the apology but sent a letter to the president saying that Obama’s comments -- which rightfully reminded corporate execs not to use bailout money to traipse off to Vegas -- would hurt Vegas convention business. He repeatedly made his case until, on Memorial Day, Emanuel called him to say that the mayor would be appeased during Obama’s trip.
As Goodman himself noted today, the presidential trip itself showed Obama appreciates Las Vegas. If our mayor ever questioned that, he should have just picked up the phone and spared us all the drama.
"Under the radar" ?
So, basically, Americans are no longer allowed to challenge authority. Just follow the leader. Do as they say like a robot? What happened to freedom of speech and what happened to America?
You want the President of the USA to shill for Vegas conventions? Come on... no class...
Just like the auto workers the casino workers helped elect Obama and then he turns around and leaves them hanging out to dry.
He has alot of nerve coming to Vegas and LA doing fundrasiers, when thousands of people are out of work.
How is the "Hope and Change" working for you?
Tannsummers, the point was not that the mayor, or anyone else, doesn't have the right to question authority or speak out. The point is, using a public forum in this instance and in this manner was not the way for the mayor to get the results he wanted. There's no question what type of statement he wanted, and there's no question that Obama did not make that statement. It should have been handled more diplomatically.
Couldn't agree with the article more!
It seems that Goodman and Gibbons created the fire-Circe and "perception" of those comments by shooting off at the mouth and taking President Obama's words way out of context. Had the Nevada officials (especially the mayor of Las Vegas) humbly come out with their own statements in a diplomatic and respectful fashion and with a tone that wasn't condescending or spiteful this whole thing could have been a completely positive PR campaign for Vegas tourism.
Goodman could have simply stated something to the fact that he agreed with the Presidents fiscally responsible idea of companies accepting bailout monies and NOT going on junkets to yes even Vegas, but that in fact Vegas is still open for business and that their is no better place budget wise and entertainment wise to do business hold conventions and have fun, especially when times are down. This would have made for more positive PR and opportunity to grown the Vegas brand. It is the Nevada Governor's, Las Vegas Mayor's and LVCVA's job to individually market the city of Las Vegas! Not the President of the United States! Get over it please people, there are far more pressing issues involving this country and the world for that matter. Vegas will be fine, people have said far worse things!
Where, when, how did the leader of the free world "diss" our great city? I know, I know - I've seen the 15-second tv clips where the president seems to berate companies bailed-out by federal money in renting private jets, and taking trips to Las Vegas - ON THE PUBLIC DIME. In a way this is a backdoor compliment. The president realizes the attraction of our little desert community. My God, he was here a dozen times or more - yes, trolling for votes, before he became president. Ii can not believe that our hotel and entertainment community lost so much money as to put us further into the recession by Obama's remarks. Goodman appears to have been personally angered by the remarks. Obama played it cool, just right actually. With North Korea looking to blow up the planet - he certainly has more on his plate than the perception that he "dissed" Las Vegas. He did enough by coming here, staying overnight and visiting Nellis AFB. Take that as his "apology" and cease this unnecessary jibberish, which is only going to make the situation worse.