Obama Cabinet members often stop in Reid country

[October 23, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The travel industry may be hurting in Las Vegas these days but not for lack of visits from members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet.

Attorney General Eric Holder was the ninth Cabinet member to visit Nevada during the past six months. Holder and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., toured facilities on Saturday designed to help law enforcement officers respond to security threats.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have also attended fundraisers in Nevada for Reid.

White House officials say the trips helped Obama's top aides fulfill their particular job responsibilities. Republicans say all the attention shows the administration is leaving little to chance when it comes to helping Reid win a fifth term in office.

The visit from Holder underlined a theme that Reid has been trying to impress upon Nevadans: He's in the position to ensure Nevada gets its fair share of federal resources. Reid reminded Nevadans that he helped secure money for the counterterrorism center and that law enforcement agencies in the state got $23 million through the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

In July, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined Reid to talk about the potential for some of the $8 billion in money for high-speed rail making its way to Nevada. In June, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar joined Reid to talk about steps taken to speed up the development of solar energy.

Other visitors include Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, who toured parts of Las Vegas hit hard by high foreclosure rates, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who was learning about Nevada schools.

The trips show Reid's re-election prospects are shaky, said Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

"The Obama administration is doing everything it can to prop up Harry Reid's election numbers," Walsh said.

A White House official said Nevada has been particularly hurt by the recession and that helping families keep their homes and health care is the president's top priority.

"The president will continue to send his Cabinet members to Nevada and across the country to find the best ways to repair our economy, reform our health insurance system and build upon Nevada's efforts to create green energy jobs," said White House spokesman Adam Abrams.

A Reid spokesman said the trips from Cabinet members were strictly working visits and that the transition to a Democratic administration partly explains all the attention the state is getting.

"They're out there to address the issues that are important to Nevadans. Sen. Reid, in many cases, has asked them to go out there to talk about these issues. We're fortunate because, in his position as majority leader, they frequently agree to make the trip," said Reid spokesman Jon Summers.

Summers bristled at the question of whether the trips were part of Reid's re-election strategy.

Eric Herzik, professor of political science at the University of Nevada-Reno, said he doesn't know whether the visits help Reid's political standing going into next year's election, but he says they can't hurt it.

"It draws attention to Nevada, a state that is often overlooked," Herzik said.

Herzik said he would also disagree with those who would say the trips amount to campaign visits.

"Given our reliance in some areas on the federal government, it makes sense. They should have been out here 20 years ago," Herzik said.

[Associated Press; By KEVIN FREKING]

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