Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Sun editorial:

The mayor’s overreaction

Goodman is off-base about Obama’s critique of bailed-out companies’ would-be junkets

Adverse publicity last week caused Wells Fargo, which received a $25 billion bailout from the federal government, to cancel a “recognition event” for its top mortgage officers this month, an event that was going to be held in Las Vegas. On Monday it was announced that Goldman Sachs, which received a $10 billion bailout, was moving its three-day conference this month from Las Vegas to San Francisco.

On Monday, while in Indiana stumping for his stimulus bill, President Barack Obama took a dim view of junkets potentially being taken by companies that receive federal bailout money. “You can’t get corporate jets, you can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime,” Obama said. “There’s got to be some accountability and some responsibility, and that’s something that I intend to impose as president of the United States.”

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman responded with his characteristic lack of proportion, demanding that the president apologize. “What’s a better place, as I say, than for them to come here,” Goodman told the television station KLAS on Tuesday. “And to change their mind and to go someplace else and to cancel — and at the suggestion of the president of the United States — that’s outrageous.”

It’s hardly outrageous. In fact, what the president said is sensible.

The president didn’t say people shouldn’t come to Las Vegas, a city hit hard by the recession. He simply said that those companies receiving federal bailouts shouldn’t use taxpayer money for junkets. To us that would apply whether it’s here, Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago or New York.

And, as Sen. Harry Reid noted Wednesday, the president’s chief of staff told him that Obama’s remarks didn’t reflect his thoughts about a particular city. “The president knows that Las Vegas is America’s premier destination to do business,” Reid said, adding that it’s also one of the more affordable places to visit.

Goodman has been the city’s top cheerleader for tourism, but his demand for a presidential apology — which he backtracked from Wednesday — only undercut his cause. People pilloried Las Vegas because of the demand. We hope they’ll excuse him and remember that Las Vegas is still a great place to visit, even in these tough times.

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