Columnist Jon Ralston: New realities can’t be ignored

Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 | 4:25 a.m.

Jon Ralston hosts the public affairs program "Face to Face" on Las Vegas ONE and also publishes the Ralston Report. His column for the Sun appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-799 or through e-mail at ralston@vegas.com.

RARELY HAS a cliche become embedded so quickly -- and proved so wrong, at least here in Nevada.

Since the Sept. 11 nightmare, countless commentators, politicians and others have referred to the terrorism on our soil as the proverbial wake-up call.

But, it seems to me as Week Three elapses, everyone's still sleeping. Instead of being on edge, becoming more aware and confronting harsh truths, too many people are in denial, failing to realize that the political and economic aftershocks of the terrorist temblor have just begun.

Granted, Gov. Kenny Guinn, Mayor Oscar Goodman and other political leaders have an obligation to project optimism, both to reassure a populace still feeling an extended frisson from the events of Sept. 11 and to try to encourage tourists to return to a state dependent on their wallets.

But let's not fool ourselves. Even if nothing else should happen, some realities cannot be ignored. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, and realizing I risk the obloquy of one and all, consider:

Guinn's State of the Economy speech Thursday night was more of a State of the Zeitgeist address. He wanted to soothe workers (Message: I care) and talk in grand terms of the Nevada spirit. His recitation of some interim fixes -- expediting unemployment benefits, urging private sector folks to be caring -- was less important than the message.

Yes, Guinn vitiated that message by his halting, soporific delivery. Clearly, someone told him to be somber -- but he looked more somnambulistic than sincere, which was a shame because the meat of the speech was quite effective.

But even if you just look at what Guinn was trying to say and do, it only goes so far. The government can only do so much to alleviate the suffering of the unemployed and to use rhetoric to prod businesses to be sensitive, be caring, to -- another shopworn cliche -- do the right thing.

Hearts can bleed for the workers. But these casino companies are hemorrhaging and their triage choices are limited, especially since shareholders won't sit by as stock prices plummet. Consider that MGM MIRAGE made $250 million last year, but has a monthly payroll of $150 million.

It was heartening to see executives of some companies announcing they would take pay cuts, too (Message: They care), and that the union leaders were doing the same and willing to accept adjusted work rules to put people back into jobs. But this is an economic crisis that could be just beginning, as the ripple effects are felt during the next few weeks.

As for politics, which took a holiday everywhere in the aftermath of the plane crashes, the vacation is over. Partisan divides are forming on Capitol Hill between Democrats who want to focus on worker assistance and Republicans who prefer to concentrate on stimulating the economy through tax incentives.

In Nevada, the memory of that interfaith gathering at the end of the first week, which featured an embrace between bitter political enemies Guinn and Rep. Shelley Berkley, is long gone. It has been replaced by vignettes of Clark County commissioners venting their personal grudges in a game of one-upmanship last week. And soon, if the state budget crisis worsens, you will see a partisan schism develop over how to deal with it.

And the political fallout will be felt into Campaign '02 in many ways.

Challengers will find it even more daunting because extracting money from businesses will be more difficult. And Democrats could find that their most effective grass-roots group, the Culinary Union, will be more focused internally than externally.

Finally, I and others have asked questions of experts and observers about the possibility of Las Vegas being a terrorist target in the future, which has brought criticism that we are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It made me queasy to discover, as the Los Angeles Times first reported last week, that some of the hijackers visited Las Vegas. But it was not that surprising, especially because this is a city where society's effluvium often drifts, seeking purification or hoping to be absorbed by the already toxic atmosphere.

Does anyone really think that the media has to tell terrorists that Las Vegas has a world renowned skyline and is the center of capitalism run amok and decadence personified? This is terrifying. But it is real, folks.

As with the economy, as with politics and as with the threat of terrorism here, the alarm is clanging. You want a cliche, folks, that all the politicians from Guinn on down might appreciate if not articulate: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.