Governor: Obama's 'Reckless Comments' Hurting Vegas

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons lashed out at President Obama Monday after his office was notified that the President will not meet with him later this month.

Hibbons made the request in a letter to Barack Obama a month ago, saying he wanted to discuss the state's damaged tourism industry and some of the President's comments that he credits for the decline.

According to a press release from the Governor's office:

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports that over 400 conventions and business meetings scheduled to take place in Las Vegas recently have cancelled. These cancelled events translate into 111,800 guests in Las Vegas and over 250,000 "room-nights." The cancelled conventions and meetings have cost the Las Vegas economy over $100-million, not including gaming revenue.

"I am disappointed at the hypocrisy shown by this Administration," Gibbons said, "President Obama is coming to Las Vegas later this month for a political fundraiser, but he will not help the struggling families in Las Vegas and Nevada who are out of work because of his reckless comments." Governor Gibbons noted, "President Obama is coming to Las Vegas to raise campaign cash for Senator Harry Reid, apparently our money is good enough for the President, but our tourism, jobs, an economic future are not." Gibbons added, "This is politics, pure and simple, President Obama stood for change, but all he has done is brought negative economic change to Nevada."

Governor Gibbons is calling upon Senator Reid to use any influence he might have to ask President Obama to encourage Americans to visit America during their summer vacations this year. "Sometimes Washington politicians forget that the people of Nevada are Americans," Governor Gibbons said, "This President needs to repair the damage he has done."

The release points to comments made by Obama in Elkhart, Indiana earlier in the year: