Obama “Helps” Reid?

Uh, not exactly. Unless Obama is trying to “help” Senate Majority Leader Reid retire. Many of us would be happy as clams with that, including me. Even when I still had on my rose-colored yellow dog Democratic glasses, I was very disappointed in Reid’s “leadership.” That disappointment has only continued to grow for me.

Apparently, I am not the only one, though I’m not the one who counts. It’s the people who are actually in Reid’s state who matter at this juncture. And they are none too happy with him, either. Even a visit from The One didn’t help him, as this article makes clear, POLL: Obama’s Visit Just Bounced Off Reid; Poll shows senator gained little ground in re-election battle. Oh, dear. That doesn’t bode well, does it? Short answer, no. But here’s the particulars of just how much Obama did not help the senator in his re-election bid:

During his whirlwind visit to Las Vegas two weeks ago, President Barack Obama mentioned U.S. Sen. Harry Reid by name four dozen times, gave him a big hug and talked him up as if he was a long-lost brother.

In remarks that could not have been more laudatory, Obama repeatedly characterized the veteran Democratic leader as a man “made of very strong stuff” who was making the right decisions for the state back in the nation’s capital.

But as Reid faces an uphill path to win re-election to a fifth Senate term, Obama’s enthusiastic endorsement does not appear to have improved the Senate majority leader’s standing among constituents, according to a new poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Reid got no bounce from Obama’s visit on Feb. 19, when the president spoke highly of him at Green Valley High School and to business leaders at CityCenter, polling indicates.

A larger percentage of voters surveyed (17 percent) said they would be less likely to vote for Reid following the president’s visit than said they would be more likely to vote for him (7 percent). Seventy-five percent said Obama’s visit would have no effect on how they vote.

“Reid was not helped, and Obama was not any more popular than he was before he came to the state,” said Brad Coker, managing director at Mason-Dixon Polling & Research.

Obama’s day in Vegas “did not have much of an effect” on Reid’s re-election chances, notably among independent voters, Coker said.

Um, I’m no mathematician, but I do know basic arithmetic: 17 – 7 = 10, so I’m not real sure about Coker’s conclusion that Obama’s visit “did not have much of an effect” on Reid’s behalf. Seems like Obama’s visit had QUITE the effect, just not the kind Reid probably wanted. Coker continued:

“The independents hold the key to Reid, and for Reid there is no sign he is cracking them right now,” he said.

Mason-Dixon researchers spoke over the phone with 625 likely Nevada voters Monday through Wednesday. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

A political boost for Reid “wasn’t the intent of the visit,” Reid spokesman Jon Summers said.

“Senator Reid asked the president to come to Nevada to talk about jobs and the economy and in doing so they announced $100 million to help Nevadans who are underwater in their homes,” Summers said.

Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. That’s how they are going to try and spin this? They really do think we are a bunch of A-Number 1 Morons, don’t they? Naturally, this had absolutely zip to do with Reid’s continued struggles for re-election, not the best impression when the Senate Majority Leader is having such a hard time in his own state. Surely he can count on a little, tiny bounce by a visit from the president – not:

Regarding Obama’s trip to Las Vegas, the president’s lack of a coattail for Reid to ride says as much about Nevadans’ ambivalence toward the president as it does about the senator, Coker said.

Reid’s renewed focus on passing jobs bills in the Senate continues to be overshadowed in voters’ minds by Obama’s association with the unpopular health care debate, including Thursday’s daylong health summit , Coker said.

“It would be to Obama and Reid’s advantage to get off health care and get onto issues that people want them to work on,” Coker said.

But Obama’s visit served several purposes for Reid that wouldn’t turn up in the numbers, at least not yet, said Mark Peplowski, a political science professor at the College of Southern Nevada.

One purpose is to excite the Democratic base, particularly younger voters and occasional voters who went with Obama in 2008 and need to be re-energized.

“Pollsters now are talking with inveterate voters, but Obama and Reid are looking long term at nine months from now because Harry doesn’t have a primary race,” Peplowski said.

David Damore, a UNLV professor, said Reid’s ability to put Obama together with business leaders, as he did at a fund­raiser and again at CityCenter, shows power brokers, including Republican ones, that he can continue to deliver.

That might cement Reid’s support later among people who otherwise might think about contributing to his Republican challenger, Damore said. (Contact Stephens Media Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760.)

Yeah, let’s just see how well that goes over with the regular people of Nevada. They seem to see both Obama and Reid pretty clearly, don’t they? Make sure to check out the comments of the people who live in that state following the article. Hooey, there are some folks who are hot under the collar.

Or maybe they just don’t cotton to Obama telling people NOT to come to Las Vegas – TWICE, and waste their money there.

Ahem. Well, we keep trying to tell them that JOBS are what we need, something that will pay the mortgage, pay our utility bills, enable us to buy gas to get to work, and cash to put food on the table. We do not need some half-baked plan full of pork that will constitute 1/6th of the economy and will cost us money we don’t have – personally, and as a country, just to massage the ego of “That One.”

Yep, those coattails of Obama’s ain’t what they used to be – oh, wait, they never were (just ask Cornine, Deeds, or Coakley). Maybe it’s time for our “representatives” in Washington to figure out they are there to do OUR work, not whatever the man in the White House demands. If not, more of them, hopefully like Reid, will be looking for jobs themselves.

Hey, here’s a thought – Obama, why don’t you go “help” Pelosi, too? Since she seems to have forgotten her job description, to represent the people and not you, Obama, she could do with retirement. Rather, WE could do with her retirement.

Who else should Obama go “help”?