Lawmakers upset over president’s 2nd anti-Las Vegas remark

February 3, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada lawmakers lashed out at President Barack Obama on Tuesday after he made another reference to Las Vegas while explaining how people should make tough choices on spending.

The issue is sensitive to Sin City because its economy is based largely on tourism, and several lawmakers said they were shocked that Obama singled out Las Vegas again after commenting one year ago about bailed-out banks holding meetings here.

“When times are tough, you tighten your belts,” Obama said, according to a White House transcript of his appearance Tuesday at a high school in Nashua, N.H.

“You don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage,” Obama said. “You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices.”

The comments quickly sparked a flurry of reaction from federal, state and local lawmakers in the Silver State, which had an unemployment rate of 13 percent in December.

“I’ll do everything I can to give him the boot,” Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said during a hastily called news conference, adding that he was incensed when he heard about the comments and said he would no longer welcome the president here if he visits.

Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader and one of Obama’s closest allies, issued a statement headlined “Reid to Obama: ‘Lay off Las Vegas,’” and was blunt in his reaction.

“The President needs to lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn’t be spending their money,” Reid said.