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President Barack Obama
President Obama's recent comments regarding Las Vegas, which aren't his first remarks about the city, have drawn outrage from prominent politicians from across the entire state.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who was critical of the president regarding his original Vegas comments, called him a "slow learner". He also said the president was not a friend to Las Vegas, and unless the matter was straightened out, not welcome in the city.
But it's not just Las Vegans who were upset over the comments. Governor Jim Gibbons called the remarks tasteless, saying that 48 states have some form of gambling or a lottery. Even Harry Reid told Obama to "lay off", resulting in a letter of response from the President.
Other politicians from both sides of the aisle including Republican representative Dean Heller, Democratic representative Diana Titus, Democratic Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, and U.S. Senator John Ensign were also critical of the remarks.
In his original remarks Obama said that companies receiving federal money should not be making trips to Las Vegas. His more recent remark was that money that should be saved for college should not be spent in Sin City. As tourism is so important to the city's economy, with the whole state's economy being in such dire straits, the comments are seen as potentially damaging, especially since they single out the city.
Obama is set to arrive in Las Vegas on February 18th, ironically, to campaign for Harry Reid's re-election bid to the Senate in 2010.
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