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Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.
For a dead guy, Harry Reid looked quite hale Tuesday.
A year ago, six months ago, maybe three months ago, I could have made a lot of money betting Reid, entombed by a Schumerizing D.C. elite and a horde of frothing Republicans, would return for a fifth term. But return he has, having vanquished the Tea Party’s national darling with the greatest campaign in state history and one of the greatest in U.S. Senate annals.
And when he came into the studio to tape “Face to Face,” Reid was almost unrecognizable from the haggard, exhausted man of November who had to campaign as hard as he ever has in his nearly five decades in public life to defeat Sharron Angle. He looked rested, relieved and ready.
But he was still, unmistakably, unpredictably, Harry Reid. To wit:
• Only Harry Reid, when asked about whether he still thought the lame-duck tax cut deal was a good one, would begin his serpentine answer thusly:
“I am going to go back to Washington and meet with the president of China. He is a dictator. He can do a lot of things through the form of government they have. Maybe I shouldn’t have said dictator. But they have a different type of government then we have and that is an understatement.”
First, you might wonder what Hu Jintao has to do with the question I asked. (Reid would later make clear he was comparing China with America, where compromise is essential in “the best system ever devised to rule the affairs of men and women.”)
Second, how Reid-like is it to call the Chinese president a dictator as he is arriving in this country for sensitive talks with President Barack Obama? An awkward state dinner?
• Only Harry Reid, when I asked him about his 2006 vote against raising the debt ceiling (and Obama did so, too, as a senator), would give this kind of candid answer:
“You had a Republican president, he had to get the debt raised, so that we had Democrats out there trying to play games.”
Me: “You said it was political back then, you are acknowledging that?”
Reid: “Yeah it was, (raises right hand) I am guilty, OK … I am very embarrassed in fact that that was the thing I did at that time because it is the wrong thing to do. I have always voted to increase the debt limit when necessary. This is something that I wish I hadn’t been involved in because I would have had a 100 percent record of increasing the debt.”
• Only Harry Reid could present the kind of straight-faced claims that will drive his critics and foes into apoplexy:
On renewable energy: Nevada will be energy independent in “three or four years.”
On presenting a list of spending cuts: “We have to do that. Not only on domestic discretionary spending that we have to do something about. We have to do something about as Secretary (Robert) Gates said about the defense budget. We have to do something about long term debt as it relates to Medicare, Medicaid and programs like that.”
On immigration reform: Reid said “the tide is turning,” partly because Republicans were crushed by Hispanic voters last year. “I think you are going to be surprised. I think you are going to find significant support from the press around the country. We have an interesting mix. We have organized labor and the Chamber of Commerce want something done and I think that this is the time to get something done.”
(Then again, this is the same guy who said 100,000 people would turn out for that 2008 presidential caucus and consistently said in 2010 he was comfortable with his poll numbers.)
• Only Harry Reid, when I asked him about gun control in the wake of the Tucson rampage, would hearken back to the year the New York Jets last were in the Super Bowl:
“As a brand new freshmen legislator in 1969 I went to the state Legislature … There should be a waiting period for the purchase of a handgun to stop someone who has mental problems from buying a gun. We can check instantly, it is so easy to do.”
But what about new federal gun laws? Reid can still dance, but insisted, “I do not want to take anyone’s gun away from them, but I think there are things that we can do. I think the waiting period is important. I did that in 1969 and I never looked back on that.”
As the program ended, I sneaked in a final question to get a quick answer: Would this be Reid’s final term?
“I’m just getting warmed up,” he smiled.
Not bad for a dead guy.
Only Harry Reid, when I asked him about gun control in the wake of the Tucson rampage, would hearken back to the year the New York Jets last were in the Super Bowl
Same old Harry Reid.
Harry and Nancy ran Congress since 2007 and look at the mess we are in - no jobs and no money.
Jon Ralston and the Hatemonger
http://battlebornpolitics.wordpress.com/...
Thanks Harry. The true Come Back Kid. What a relief it must be - the love of his life is on the road to recovery and he is stronger than ever in the Senate.
How about this for a Harry Reid "green job"---how about we put him out to pasture where the grass is green (which should have been done in November). Voluntary retirement on his part would be admirable.
Nevada you voted Harry Reid back in I ask why? Your state is the worst in the country. Get rid of the Union People!
2. Nevada
2010 Foreclosures: 9.42% (Worst)
Unemployment: 14.3% (Worst)
Decrease in Building Permits 2006-2010: -84.39% (Worst)
In 2010, an incredible 9.42% of all housing units in Nevada were foreclosed upon. This is by far the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., and is nearly twice that of the next-worst state. Nevada also has the highest unemployment rate in the United States, at 14.3%.The recession undermined profits in the gaming industry. Between 2006 and 2010, the state had an 84.3% decrease in building permit requests, the largest drop in the country. This has resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of construction jobs.
He will do his best to embarrass the citizens of Nevada...
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/...
Reid won, Fox lost, talk radio lost. Palin "the target woman" Palin is seeing her numbers tank. Obama is surging in the polls, particularly with independents.
"Joe the plumber" his name is not Joe, he is not a plumber, he does not pay taxes, another fraud like Palin.
Well, There is no one quite like Harry. Lieberman and Conrad are retiring because it will be extremely hard for either of them to get re-elected, (for almost exactly opposite reasons), in 2012, even after years of serving their respective states. Harry was dead all last year, but fought a magnificent fight. For all of his tongue ties and sometimes not having a stop-gap beween his brain and his mouth, he is a remarkable politician and has been good for Nevada. He's also not a quitter. Maybe he will retire in 2022.
Thanks Jon. I was wondering if you were going to give Harry a pass. I appreciate your tenacity in holding all politicians' feet to the fire for their words and deeds. There's a little Tim Russert in you buddy.
Thank God for Harry Reid.
Keep giving the greedy, heartless republicans
Hell, Harry.
Harry Reid should be nicknamed Harry Houdini.
Reid's obituary was written months ago when bloated talking heads such as Oxycontin Limbaugh gave the Senator no chance of being re-elected. Back then the Obese One was gleeful when callers to his radio show brought up the Reid's name and speculated on which teabagger would take the senate seat.
Harry would be 'Daschled' they said. But Reid is no Tom Daschle and Nevadans aren't nearly as stupid as South Dakotans.
Even more agonizing for hilarious tea loons is that, at 71, Reid is in perfect health and conceivably could become the first 100 year-old senator. That would be a great achievement in his life of public service and, as a bonus, drive right-wingers even crazier than they usually are.