So you think the pea is under the center shell?
- President Obama arrives in Las Vegas bearing gifts
You ever get the feeling that Washington is just one giant shell game? Everybody else is a shill and you are the mark. They let you find the pea when it suits them.
Just a month ago Clark County, North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Las Vegas officials asked for $367 million from a $2 billion federal stimulus fund to help areas hardest hit by the nation’s mortgage bust. Since Southern Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the country and 13 percent joblessness, you’d think … oops, no pea.
Reno got $21 million but Southern Nevada got zilch.
At the time Harry Reid said he was "extremely disappointed."
"HUD has indicated that the applicants in Southern Nevada did not meet eligibility requirements but the agency needs to explain why," Reid said. "And, given the severity of the foreclosure crisis in Southern Nevada, HUD needs to work with the state to provide needed resources to confront it."
Well, Obama shows up today, and guess what? There’s a pea. A big $100 million pea.
Reid, who is accompanying Obama, thanked Obama for letting his state find a pea.
"I have been working with President Obama and his administration on a solution to address Nevada's housing crisis for a while now and I am so glad we came up with one that will help people who are struggling," Reid said in a statement. "Our state is going to receive at least $100 million; that will go a long way toward helping to keep people in their homes and assisting those who are underwater."
Now, who is the shill and who is the mark?
