Well, this was hardly unexpected, even though I had hoped his over-weening arrogance would have kept him in the race. Here's hoping that Shelley Berkley decides NOT to run. If Dina Titus's accent hurt her so badly with Nevadans in her run for governor (and I think it did), Berkeley doesn't stand a chance with her grating whine of a voice. Too bad, as her name recognition is so much better than that of any of the other Democrats. Maybe if she opts out, Titus WILL run, as folks may be immunized with respect to her accent now (and it's not really that bad, it's just fairly amazing that it's still as strong as it is, given her education level and how long she's lived in NV). Plus, Titus is actually a pretty moderate Democrat, which ought to play well against Heller's extremism.

So far Sandoval is showing he's exactly as smart (not very, of course) as Gibbons. I've been saying it for two years and it's worth repeating: "Nevadans have always depended on the stupidity of strangers."
At least some business leaders have finally realized that statement can't hold true if Nevadans are to have any kind of a future. Now they need to convince the guy they overwhelmingly supported for governor!

The state should definitely take the bastard's house! Even that won't make up what csn has paid him while he's been on "leave". And what about the 3 different presidents that have supported him: Remington, Carpenter, and Carpenter's lapdog, Richards? Richards should definitely be fired, immediately (and to think, Remington was actually the best of the bunch....). He should get several years jail time; I'm hoping for a minimum of 3-5.

Laurie Bisch is definitely getting my vote after reading this. Yes, she MAYBE could have handled this situation a little better, but by doing so, she would almost certainly have delayed medical care for the minor by HOURS. I want someone who can weigh those kinds of decisions and correctly choose violating a minor bureaucratic rule over a possibly serious medical situation. Plus, given that the "big-shots" are trying to get rid of her is prima facie evidence that it's the big-shots that have got to go.

I agree with most of this column expect the praise of Horsford. He's the ultimate political weak sister, always wanting to do more "studies" and pushing hard decisions off to the future. Why? He's hoping and praying that the economy will have improved enough that Nevadans can go back to the status quo of depending upon the stupidity of strangers to fund their basic services, rather than "manning" up and paying their own way.
Probably a moot point though, because as soon as the public figures out he's on the "down-low" his political career is over anyway.

Excellent article and rebuttal Mr. Wixon, thank you! The time has long since passed when Nevadans can depend upon the stupidity of strangers to fund their basic services. If we want to do better in terms of education, then we, the taxpayers of NV, are simply going to either pay for it or become the equivalent of a 3rd world country. Here's a little arithmetic: the current shortfall in the higher ed budget in this state amounts to a whopping $50 per adult Nevadan! And we can't pay for that? The TOTAL budget shortfall amounts to about $400 per adult Nevadan or about 1 percent of adult income. Mr. Wixon is exactly right: underfunding education has led to an economy that HAS to depend upon the stupidity (and liquidity) of strangers to survive. Except those strangers are no longer "liquid". One strategy is always true whether we're talking sports, politics, or war: you ALWAYS change a losing game.

So typical of comment pages in the interwebs, this one quickly degenerates into people blaming democrats for all their personal failures. Too fat? blame Sen. Reid, didn't finish h.s. so you don't value education? blame President Obama....bla, bla, bla. Are self-centered, looking out for me libertarians and republicans the ONLY people who ever comment here? (after all, the Sun is the liberal alternative to the right wing rag in town).
The REAL news here is that Gibbons has either gotten the message that a lot of people in NV really DO value higher education, or he's willing to PRETEND that he does up until the election. Given his history on these issues, the smart money is on the latter. Even if he really believes what he is saying (almost all of which, shockingly, is correct and is what higher ed professionals everywhere agree is needed) the chances of HIS doing any of these are zero, nada, zilch, because by the time of the next session, he'll be out of office.

Yep, what a great place to start, education. Talk about eating your friggin' seed corn. Nevada ALREADY has the second smallest system of higher education in the country (and the very worst, without a doubt). And in k-12 all I can say is thank god for Mississippi.....

Dear Dr. Parker: don't you judge LOVE arguing with amateurs with their own pet "theories" (I use the word very loosely which is why it's in quotes)? They always assume their innately superior intelligence is worth so much more than actually, uh, STUDYING a subject for decades. Here's a site that I'm sure you will find more interesting than the above comment writers (it's where I direct amateurs in my field and to a large degree is interdisciplinary): http://ip.home/advice/amateurs

Disgraced? Please, Rollie as more integrity in his pinkie fingers than Jerry (the cheater) Tarkanian does is his entire body.