Why Nevada went for Obama

To the editor:

Thank you, fellow Nevadans, for joining me in re-electing President Barack Obama last week. And for all the naysayers and Obama haters out there, let me tell you why I voted for this president. It's time that someone told the truth about what has been going on in our town over the past four years.

The Las Vegas Strip is a very good barometer of how things are going around the country. I have lived in Las Vegas and worked on the strip since 1989. When President Obama took office in January 2009, it was the slowest I had ever seen the Strip. The restaurant where I work was cutting us back to three shifts a week. Even on Saturdays, 60 percent of the staff was cut by 9 p.m.

I also work part time as an extra board banquet server and the banquet business was also the worst I had ever seen it. By late 2009 and early 2010, things had begun to improve. All of us at the restaurant were back to working five days a week. Things continued to improve dramatically throughout 2010. 2011 was a very good year. Saturday nights, our restaurant would be packed. 2012 has been great!

Not only has the restaurant been doing fantastic, my part-time banquet job has also been great. And when I work banquets, I talk to banquet servers who do banquets full time and they all say that this is the busiest they have ever been. Also, when I work those banquets, many of them business conventions, I hear what speakers tell their conventions and what I hear constantly is how their business has improved dramatically over the past three years.

Many restaurants and clubs have been hiring on the Strip. I just can't understand these people who say they can't find work.

I also have a friend who sells cars. In February, 2009, he couldn't sell anyone a car. The credit markets had completely frozen. He had people with a 690 credit score and $1,000 down payments, and he couldn't sell them a car. No financing was available. In March of 2009, President Obama acted to unfreeze the credit markets. This made it possible to once again get people financed. My friend has no doubt that the president's actions saved his family from financial ruin.

This president has done a good job. Thankfully, a majority of Nevadans have seen how our community is moving in the right direction. Staying with President Obama was the right choice for our city and state.

TOM MANN

LAS VEGAS

To the editor:

This past Election Day, Nevada voters performed differently than their lack of education might suggest. In re-electing President Obama, Nevada voters unexpectedly cast ballots like educated persons with college degrees.

A curious statistic supplied by Fox Business (OMG!) shows that our 10 most educated states voted for Obama, while our 10 least educated states voted for Romney - with the sole exception being Nevada.

Despite being in the bottom 10 in terms of education, Nevadans voted as if they were in the top 10. Way to go, Nevada!

The Fox Business statistic defined "educated" as having a "college degree." In Massachusetts, the most educated state, a whopping 39.1 percent of the population has a college degree. Not surprisingly, every county in Massachusetts went blue, overwhelmingly voting for Obama over Romney. Notably, Romney got trounced in the state where he was governor.

In West Virginia, the least educated state, only 18.5 percent of the population has a college degrees. Not surprisingly, every county in West Virginia went red, overwhelmingly voting for Romney.

In comparison to our 49 sister states, we Nevadans are undereducated. Only 22.5 percent of us have college degrees. In terms of education, we came in poorly at No. 43, and yet we voted as if we were in the top 10. How did this happen?

A quick glance at the electoral map of Nevada reveals the answer.

In fact, 15 Nevada counties are red, while just two - Washoe and Clark - are blue.

It was our two blue counties that cast the deciding votes. In the end, educated blue voters in Reno and Las Vegas spoke for the entire state of Nevada, casting all six Electoral College votes for President Obama.

Pahrump readers will undoubtedly grumble that Reno and Vegas are blue because they're full of big-city liberals. But we know better. Reno and Vegas are blue thanks to all those Californians who brought their college degrees with them.

And last, a special shout-out to Fox Business. Thank you, Neil Cavuto, for pointing out what the rest of us have known all along - Fox viewers are the least educated among us.

Me? I'm a California-educated resident of Clark County and I approved this message.

T. MATTHEW PHILLIPS

NORTH LAS VEGAS