For the second time in a year, President Obama raised the hackles of Nevada politicians by suggesting that spending money in Las Vegas is a bad idea. A year ago, he warned taxpayer-bailed-out companies against holding lavish meetings in Sin City; on Tuesday, in a speech about federal belt-tightening, Obama told a group of New Hampshire high school students not to "blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you're trying to save for college." Is Obama treating recession-ravaged Las Vegas unfairly? (Watch Obama's comments about Las Vegas)
Obama was right: I understand that Las Vegans "need your dumb spending, irresponsibility, and drunken" revels to survive, says Ravi Somaiya in Gawker. But the only correct response to this absurd controversy is to point out the obvious: the "complainers are stupid."
"Obama asked to stop using Vegas as a metaphor for idiocy"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Who's the stupid one here? "This president is a real slow learner," says Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, via KTNV.com. Obama "hurt our economy by his ill-conceived rhetoric" last year, and since "he didn't learn his lesson the first time," next time he comes to Las Vegas "I'll do everything I can to give him the boot back to Washington and to visit his failures back there."
"Las Vegas Mayor Goodman blasts President Obama"
Obama misspoke, but Vegas is overreacting: "I find myself in the odd position of defending Obama on this score," says Ed Morrissey in Hot Air. It would have been better for Obama to "keep it generic by saying 'in the casinos' rather than 'on Vegas,'" but his point — you shouldn't waste money you need for something more important — is "only remarkable for its banality."
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
