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Reids’ national media misadventures and Goodman’s true self
Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Catching up on the week’s activity by doing a pundit brain’s download on Rory’s not-so-excellent D.C. adventure and on the real Oscar Goodman exposed not once, but twice:
• National media chews up Reid the Younger: I am sure Clark County Commission Chairman and gubernatorial contender Rory Reid hoped for the best when he sat down with a gaggle of national reporters this week in Washington. But the coverage of his chat with the bigfoot political media folks only served to highlight the possible toxicity for Democrats of having two Reids on the ballot, while concomitantly leaving The Younger and The Elder with a news cycle hangover.
The worst came when Reid the Younger was asked about Reid the Elder’s chances for reelection and the son demurred. “I think you should ask him (Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid) to handicap his own race,” Reid the Younger retorted in a remark published by most reporters who were there and then gleefully snapped up by the National Republican Senatorial Committee under the headline, “Not exactly a vote of confidence from Harry Reid’s own son …”
Let’s be fair: Once Rory Reid decided to appear on the same ballot as his father — and why he decided to allow that jeopardy to attach to both of them and the party is a separate question — the county commissioner has an almost unnavigable problem. If he says praiseworthy things about his father, he looks like Daddy’s little puppy; if he tries to distance himself from Dad, no one will give him an inch.
So it’s a near-impossible problem, especially because the son knows the father’s negatives could drag both of them down. Reid the Younger, whose dry wit was appreciated by the national scribes, tried humor (“You may know my mother — she lives in the district”) for a leavening effect. But that wasn’t going to cut it, and he clearly should have gone another route. Reid the Younger should have said when asked about Dad’s prospects, “I think my father will be fine; he always is” (or words to that effect). To instead imply he doesn’t feel great confidence about the majority leader’s chances is red meat for the national Fourth Estate jackals.
POLITICO headline: “I’m not running with my Dad.” Ouch.
But it’s Harry Reid feeling most of the pain from this in Washington. The national media folks can’t do much harm to Rory Reid’s gubernatorial bid — and perhaps asking him about troop levels in Afghanistan was unfair — but they can inflict much hurt on the father. The irony, though, is that the wounds of the father are visited upon the son, who may think he can distinguish himself from his dad, but many voters will not see the distinction.
And as much as Reid might have been irritated at the Afghanistan question, he should have been prepared to talk about health care reform, his father’s signature legislative achievement or failure. Reid the Younger would not take a position on the measure, opting in with platitudes and opting out of positions (“I’m not going to get into what the law might be”). He probably should have been more prepared to say, “As someone running for governor, I am concerned about the impact on my state. But I am supportive of my father’s efforts.”
But punditry often is the product of 20-20 hindsight, so I have an advantage. But I still think Reid the Younger underestimates how far his father’s shadow will stretch over his campaign and how much damage two Reids being on the ticket could do to the two Reids on the ticket — and, perhaps, down-ballot, too.
• What a Goodman he is when it comes to other races and physical attributes: In the space of one week, the man everybody loves to love twice exposed his true self and character. To wit:
At a charity event, Goodman the auctioneer rejected a high bid thusly and was captured on TMZ.com: “She’s fat and she’s short … a fat and short Bette Midler.”
I am sure the Divine Miss M was thrilled, as were fat and short people everywhere being mocked by the mayoral model of physical perfection.
At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, His Honor said this about what would happen if the economy does not recover quickly: “If we aren’t in good shape five years from now, we’re going to be speaking Mandarin and eating chow mein and calling each other Mr. Kwon Do.”
I am only surprised he did not affect a Chinese caricature and slur his R’s.
It should be noted that both utterances were met with laughter and applause.
Gov. Goodman? Why not?
Give the people what they want.
Jon Ralston hosts the news discussion program “Face to Face With Jon Ralston” on Las Vegas ONE and publishes the daily e-mail newsletter “RalstonFlash.com.” His column for the Las Vegas Sun appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.
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Rah....rah....Go! Go! Go! Democrats!
That is all you need to type in.
You can drop all that blah, blah, blah.
Both Reid Jr. and Goodman have so much baggage in a state wide race.
The County is in a big mess and has tons of big piles of stinkers like the RJC, the airport land deals, the public hospital mess, the $100K fire fighters and the over the top union contracts.
Goodman has a similar baggage of stinkers like building a new city hall when the city is facing a huge financial mess for years to come. It is crazy and taxpayers statewide will reject that type of crazy risk taking.
Both have the biggest stinker of all. They have been sitting on cash cows for a long time and now have their pants down when not prepared for the slowdown.
It will take a lot of double speak for either Goodman or Reid Jr to overcome the tag of incompentence in fiscal matters.
I think both will even struggle to get decent turnout in the Vegas Democratic strongholds because of the clear fiscal incompentence.
The Democrats should try to recruit a non-political type to run. A Democratic business person would probably win easily or at least have a better chance to win.
But please not take my advice.
Please nominate Reid, Jr. and --- cross my fingers --- Goodman will run a 3rd party candidacy and split the Democratic ticket.
Good post Rock.
Thank you for pointing out that Rory Reid is in something of a no-win situation when asked about his father. I agree that your suggested answers would have been an improvement. (Maybe he should put you on the payroll; then Oscar would get into the race for sure.) Still, it's manifestly unfair that Rory's responses to those questions are being used against him. He left the nest a long time ago; we should evaluate him on his own merits, not his father's.
As for Goodman, imagine if he were to run for the Senate instead of governor and get elected. I can picture him, on his first day in Washington, being told that the Senator from California wanted to meet him, and him saying, "Which one? The short one or the fat one?"
Goodman, truly is delirious if he thinks that shtick will play in Carson. Carson City and the legislature is too small a stage for Oscar. He will just milk this possible Governor run for as much as he can.
I usually do not take a stand on this kind of statement, but the sad part about what Goldman said is that he is right. This country has let so many other "foreigners" purchase properties, buy in, or finance here that American's are in the minority. Think about it people - look at the banking industry, Wall Street companies, owners of the casino right here! PAY ATTENTION. It won't be America much longer.
When the press asks you a "do you still beat your wife question" you can't answer it correctly. Rory Reid supports his father's bid for re-election, but there really is no upside to inject himself in that race.
A politician concerned with the best interests of the people needs to focus on the matter at hand rather than open up cross boarder disputes and gaining opposition from others in another race. That's the type of thought process you want in a leader. One who picks battles worthy of their time where the result inures to benefit of the people rather than get distracted from your task. (Note the current effectiveness of Senator Ensign and Governor Gibbons.)
Rory Reid chose a path to keep his focus.
"Maybe he should put you on the payroll"
What?
You don't know.
Ralston is already on the Democrat's payroll.
I nearly fell out of my chair laughing when I read that comment.
Which is OK.
You are a pundit that generates opinion pieces.
Harry Reid's time has come and gone. His own children have to distance themselves from him. He hasn't touched ground in Nevada more than a handful of times in years.
He is an embarrassment on television sounding like a mix of Mr. Rogers and Mickey O'Rourke.
He speaks ill of the country's fighting men and women and argued against war under Bush, and now is entirely silent about this lunacy in Afghanistan
And you guys in the press love him. You just think it's great to have a sour old fart in a position of power in Washington even if he is not doing anything that we in Nevada believe in.
And your special brand of twisted liberal politics allows you to ignore that all of his money come from special interest -- tort lawyers and PACs -- from everywhere BUT Nevada.
I wish someone would report on anything that matters.
He's a hazard, Harry Reid, and should be sent to another country.
Quite an interesting pair.
The basic problem for Rory Reid is that he is an able administrator, which the State needs, and he at least appears to be at ease as the guy who gets the job done, and not so at ease speaking "politico" to the news media. He's a terrible interview, but has the technical understanding of almost all the issues.
In response to an earlier post that Dems should seek a "non-political type" to run, this is a political position. In order to get there you have to be subjected to the news media, which is not interested in news. It's interest is in sensationalism. Look at Ralston. Watch his show. He couldn't ask a non-loaded question to save his life. Because it's not about finding out about someone's views, and/or reporting what they said on issues, it's about shaping the public image of someone by inserting the interviewers point of view. Running for office is not about fielding straightforward questions like "How do you feel about bringing a major league sports team to Las Vegas?" and the media waiting for a response. Instead it's this question: "Given the horrible economy and the silliness associated with Mayor Goodman's almost maniacal obsession in the media with getting a major league sports team here in Las Vegas, how do you feel about it?".
The media's problem with Rory Reid is he simply has all the pizzazz of the classified ads.
Sadly, Nevadans like pizzazz, and to segway to the other target of this article, Oscar the Clown, has shifted from smart attorney for the mob to a martini hoisting Crusty the Clown incarnate. His annual cry "I'll bring a major league sports team, you just watch [wink wink]" and his relatively recent "new Las Vegas City Hall" cry is viewed by many as akin to Caligula's desire to build Rome to his honor, while the empire crumbled. Why not a new City Hall, a fine tribute to Oscar the Great? We'll put dancing girls out front, too.
This is sort of the way you can expect the media to cover this and for less than sensible people to look at the issue at the extreme, because the extreme is easy on the outside.
Except we probably have a need for technological improvements at City Hall that might make government more efficient. Cities, school districts, utilities, and non-private entities of all sorts have to weigh these choices. Oscar's yell "up with the new, down with the old" is either a politician's way of focusing the media (sensationally) on a problem that city staff has said needs fixing, or his ego calling out "look at me, look at me, I'm a leader".
You pick.