North Las Vegas, Nevada
Everybody knows Harry Reid is in trouble. The Senate Majority Leader is in grave danger of losing his bid for re-election for a variety of reasons, among them that he is a terrible campaigner who is not particularly liked in his home state. But the biggest cause of Reid’s woes is his decision to spend the last two years working not on behalf of his constituents — hit hard by the highest unemployment rate in the country — but rather to enact Barack Obama’s agenda, which is largely unpopular in Nevada.
So on election eve, Reid welcomed one of the biggest guns in the Democratic world, First Lady Michelle Obama, to give his campaign a much-needed, last-minute shot in the arm. And Mrs. Obama delivered a rousing political speech in an appearance here at Canyon Springs High School. The only problem was, it was on behalf of Barack Obama, and not the man on the ballot Tuesday.
It’s not that Mrs. Obama didn’t say good things about Harry Reid. He’s a great leader, she said, a good man who hasn’t forgotten where he comes from. He’s the type of senator Nevada needs. But when Mrs. Obama moved into the heart of her message, it was all about her husband.
“I haven’t done this since a little campaign you might remember a couple of years ago,” she told the crowd.
They remembered. Every time Mrs. Obama mentioned the 2008 presidential race — and she did it many, many times — the audience roared with approval. Aided by a presidential-style teleprompter, she recounted the joys of election night 2008, and then the joys of inauguration day 2009, and then her husband’s accomplishments, one by one.
Barack cut taxes for middle-class families, she said. Barack also cut taxes for small businesses. Barack stopped credit card companies from jacking up rates. Barack made historic investments in education. Barack increased funding for veterans’ affairs. Barack invested in clean energy. Barack appointed two wonderful Supreme Court justices. And finally, Barack brought national health care to America.
It was all Barack, all the time. Reid was forced to stand by, a wan smile on his face, as Mrs. Obama sold her husband’s achievements. The most Reid got was an occasional “with Harry’s help,” Mrs. Obama’s way of reminding everyone that Reid played only a supporting role in the Barack Obama show.
In the last two years, Reid devoted all of his energy, and put his own political future in peril, to push the Obama agenda through the Senate. Did he really sacrifice everything for this?
Making matters worse for Reid, there’s no indication a visit like the First Lady’s will even help. A new Fox News poll shows President Obama’s job approval rating has slipped to 38 percent in Nevada. 53 percent of those surveyed by Fox say their vote in the Senate race will be an expression of opposition to the Obama administration, while just 36 percent say their vote will be an expression of support. And 53 percent say Obama’s policies have hurt the state’s economy, while just 22 percent say those policies have helped.SClB
Looming behind all those numbers is an even more important one: 14.4 percent, the unemployment rate in Nevada. Apart from the Democratic faithful at Canyon Springs High, many Nevadans hold Reid at least partly responsible for the current state of affairs. Having the First Lady fly in to tout her husband’s record seems unlikely to affect them.SClB
This wasn’t a rally to inspire participants to vote; when Reid asked people who had already voted to raise their hands, nearly everyone did. Instead, the rally was to inspire participants to get out and bring others to the polls on election day. “For people willing to volunteer, there’s a free lunch afterward in the cafeteria,” said a young party staffer as people waited to get through security.
If Reid wins, it will be because he gave enough people lunch, and got them to make enough phone calls, to get him across the finish line. But if he loses, it will be because Nevada voters were so unhappy with his support of Obama that no amount of get-out-the-vote expenditures could save him. In the end, it might turn out that Reid helped the Obamas far more than they helped him.
Byron York, The Examiner’s chief political correspondent, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears on Tuesday and Friday, and his stories and blogposts appear on ExaminerPolitics.com.
