Someone call a Waaaah-mbulance! Vegas mayor tells Obama his comments harmed city

[devilgrrl]

LAS VEGAS - The mayor of Las Vegas told President Barack Obama in a letter that his criticism of companies using taxpayer money to visit Sin City is harmful to the tourist-dependent destination.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman didn't directly ask the president for an apology and retraction in the letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, as he did in interviews.

"I expect him to address it and to correct it," Goodman told the AP.

"When you make a casual, although not malevolent remark, it can have ramifications which affect the industry as well as all of the citizens who live in southern Nevada," he said. "It's affecting some of these people's lives."

In the past two weeks, two financial institutions that received a combined $35 billion in federal bailout money pulled out of large events in Las Vegas at the last minute. Obama, who has been mustering public support for economic stimulus legislation, said during a town hall meeting this week in Indiana that companies shouldn't hold such events at taxpayers' expense.

"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 taxpayer's dime," Obama said.

Goodman said he is worried that Obama's comments are discouraging travel to a city already suffering a steep drop in tourism business and revenue.

"Mr. President, I understand the enormous burden you carry in dealing with the worst economy since the Great Depression," Goodman wrote in the letter, sent late Tuesday.

"I also understand the need for accountability, but your comments are harmful to the meetings and convention industry as a whole and Las Vegas specifically," he said.

The White House has not reacted to Goodman's comments.



:eyes:

more: http://tinyurl.com/cyjgoc

[grannie4peace]

1. now that's a reach-- he must have rubber in his brain:)

[Missy Vixen]

2. Tough sh*t, Mayor Goodman

Right now, the rest of the US is fighting for their lives. Claiming that the President is "discouraging tourism" is disingenuous at best. He was speaking about the fact that companies are using the bailout funds to entertain themselves and their employees on the taxpayer's dime.

If and when people actually can find a job and have disposable income once more, they'll be back to Vegas. In the meantime, the Mayor and the city leadership had better start talking about how they're going to make ends meet without the corporate junkets. They're gone for the foreseeable future, IMHO.

[JFN1]

3. I saw a movie once

where a bunch of guys ripped of like 11 casinos. Lots of people killed. So I suppose I should never go there, because since it happened in a movie, and life imitates art (or the other way around) it will happen in real life.

What? My argument is just as good as the Mayor's...!

[AndyA]

4. I think the Mayor of Las Vegas is stretching it a bit.

You've got to really stretch to get to his point from what Obama said. He was just using Las Vegas as an example, and there were indeed plans by bailed out institutions to go to Las Vegas. Taxpayer money or not, it's not money wisely spent by an institution on the brink of collapse.

The only people discouraged from going to Las Vegas by Obama's remarks would be the institutions he directed those remarks to. It clearly didn't apply to anyone else.

Get a grip, Mr. Mayor. Hey, maybe if you'd tell your rude, aggressive taxi drivers to cool it more people would visit. They are a real menace. :eyes:

[BanzaiBonnie]

11. Exactly. Obama didn't say don't go to Las Vegas

he said you can't do it on the taxpayers dime.

I really hope Obama doesn't apologize to that fool.

[Wetzelbill]

5. That makes no sense at all

[liberal N proud]

6. Oscar can suck on it

[blue_onyx]

7. I think he is right

Before the stimulus bill is final, we should allocate some money for trips to Vegas. It must be exhausting for the Wall Street CEOs to do such an awful job...they need a rest

:sarcasm:

[dbonds]

8. Tax cuts for all the visit vegas.

The complete trip is fully refunded, including gambling losses.
:rofl:

[TWiley]

9. Love the Whhhhhhaaa-mbulance !

Consider it stolen. I have some republi-tards at work who need to be the brunt of that one.

[zbdent]

10. hmm ... and the "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" ad run

wasn't suggesting "sinning"?

[gratuitous]

12. Full deductibility for all trips to Las Vegas

Las Vegas, New Mexico, that is.

:evilgrin:

[Sequoia]

13. Las Vegas is the worst city on the planet.

[spanone]

14. this mayor should have better things to worry about

[Mugu]

15. Found one.

[KamaAina]

16. Hawai'i has had the same problem with conferences here being perceived as "junkets"

it got really bad when we scheduled a meeting of local government officals a few years ago.

I really don't have a problem with Vegas per se, but the Venetian? Sheesh. There is a Las Vegas Hilton, you know. :eyes:

edit: caps

re-edit: a couple of the said government officials actually had to cancel because of the public outcry over them going to such a foreign, exotic place as ours. :eyes: