Sin City

Last night, my parents' flight home from Las Vegas was delayed by one hour as McCarran International Airport was shut down for the arrival of Air Force One. The crew of the airplane was urging the passengers to hurry up and get seated so they could try to beat the clock, and they got as far as taxiing away from the gate when the captain came on the intercom and informed them that they would have to wait until Air Force One had landed and President Obama was safely out of the complex. My mother said that she saw a 23-vehicle motorcade. I don't know how close she was, but I can't help but wonder what The Beast looks like in real life.

So, why was President Obama traveling to Sin City? To headline a fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Mr. Reid, you see, is up for reelection in 2010, and with CNN reporting that his approval rating among Nevada residents is only around the 40% mark, he needs all the help he can get. It's almost hard to imagine that Nevada voters are tired of a man thinks that you "can't put [terrorists] in prison unless you release them."

If you look back through my past blogs, you will see that I am not a fan of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. I feel that at his best he is a quivering mass of indecision (as proven a few months ago during the whole Roland Burris debacle), and his leadership is inept. At this point in the calendar, it is the Republicans' race to lose -- at least if they are smart enough to throw a serious contender against Reid. And to be honest, I don't know which situation I would be more upset with: the Democrats losing a seat, or Mr. Reid keeping his.