Obama visits solar panels, touts stimulus progress

Speaking at Nellis Air Force Base this morning, President Barack Obama paid a brief compliment to the host city that critics accused him of insulting when he criticized corporate junkets earlier in the year.

“There’s nothing like a quick trip to Vegas,” Obama said, grinning broadly. “Like millions of other Americans, we came to this beautiful city for the sights, the sounds — and today we came for the sun.”

Before his speech to about 400 service members and their families at the base, Obama toured a solar installation at the base that is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

The president said his stimulus package has already created 150,000 jobs across the country and will continue to power economic recovery in the months ahead.

It has been exactly 100 days since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was enacted. The White House released a report commemorating the occasion and touting the projects the legislation has enabled.

Obama is scheduled to fly out from Nellis soon, on his way to a Democratic fundraiser in Los Angeles.