Editorial: Goodman’s gaffe pandemic

Friday, Nov. 4, 2005 | 9:28 a.m.

The farther politicians travel from home, the more likely they are to commit a blunder or say something outrageous. Many of them are lulled into a false sense of security that the folks back home won't find out.

A newcomer to Las Vegas who read Thursday's Las Vegas Sun might think that had been the case with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. The mayor, an attorney who once represented organized crime defendants, appeared Wednesday on a television program in Reno and suggested that those who deface freeways with graffiti should have their thumbs cut off. He added that whipping or caning should be resurrected for some children who get in trouble.

But Goodman, who is no stranger to controversy, certainly knew that his remarks more than 400 miles away in Reno would find their way back to Southern Nevada. Indeed, he has been making outrageous comments for a number of years -- all while in Las Vegas.

Just earlier this year the mayor told a fourth grade class in Las Vegas that if he could only bring one thing with him to a deserted island, he would bring a bottle of gin. Then there was the time in 2001 when he said the homeless should be sent to an abandoned state prison in Jean.

So we can't say that we are surprised by Goodman's remarks in Reno. What is sad, though, is that because Goodman is so prone to making outrageous and offensive comments, it is hard to be shocked by him anymore.