Jon Ralston sees a problem with Reid’s response to fight-ticket storm

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

Do I believe that Sen. Harry Reid can be improperly influenced by accepting free ringside tickets to boxing matches?

Not a chance.

Do I believe that is the point of this percolating brouhaha? Not a chance.

It doesn't matter what legalisms you use. It doesn't matter whether you call it a ticket or a credential. It only depends on what the definition of "freebie" is. And most of Reid's constituents A) Can't get free ringside tickets and B) Don't believe he was doing his job as a U.S. senator as he sat in those prime seats.

This story, broken over the weekend by a national Associated Press reporter, has infuriated Reid, who said Tuesday on "Face to Face" that he has been "hit with a few accusations, but this one is beyond the pale."

But it really isn't. Part of the problem is Reid's nonchalant and dismissive response. Reid told AP that he was simply trying to learn how federal regulation of boxing might affect Nevada's industry. "Anyone from Nevada would say I'm glad he is there taking care of the state's No. 1 businesses," he said.

Actually, I don't think there's one person in Nevada who would say that. Or believe that Reid needs to be close enough to the ring to catch an errant mouthpiece to see how federal regulation of boxing might affect Nevada's regulation of boxing.

But if that retort by the obviously irritated senator wasn't silly enough, he couldn't help but add: "I love the fights anyway, so it wasn't like being punished."

Well, anyone from Nevada surely would say I'm glad of that, too. On "Face to Face," Reid insisted that because of the pending federal regulation, "I had to be at those fights, or I wouldn't be doing my job. It's important. I come and talk to commissioners ...

"The Athletic Commission is the state of Nevada. I'm a senator from the state of Nevada. Am I going to be conflicted because I'm trying to work with the state of Nevada?"

Granted, Reid has been involved in boxing for most of his adult life - as a fighter, a state regulator and now as a senator. He knows the sport, knows the issues. So he is unlikely to be influenced - or so the case goes for him.

But that also makes the case for the other side, too: If he knows these issues so well, why does he need to go to the fights to schmooze with state officials? Or couldn't he just talk to them in his office, or on the phone?

Reid may not have violated Senate ethics rules because there is an exception for gifts bestowed by government agencies. And he used that to deflect a question about Arizona Sen. John McCain paying for his tickets:

"Had I been going to an event in Arizona, I would have paid," Reid said. "The rule is set to protect people from the state from which the event takes place. Someone from Ohio watching a football game. (Someone from) Arizona watching a football game. The regulations are set up so that someone like me can come and watch a fight."

Really? They are? The problem, of course, is that McCain is the driving force behind federal regulation of boxing and the issue is that he is a senator who can influence legislation. Just as the Senate minority leader - Nevadan or not - can influence legislation.

This is not about whether Reid violated Senate rules, either. This is about how business is done in Nevada and on Capitol Hill and many, many other venues. From free Rolling Stones tickets to NASCAR comps to free lap dances, the slope can get slipperier and slipperier.

This story is much more about old ways suddenly getting new scrutiny and about Reid's legendary mulish streak - see how he clutched the Abramoff-tainted money even as it became a political liability for him and his party - than it is about scandalous wrongdoing.