This time, Sleepy Harry responds quickly

Never let it be said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid doesn’t learn from his mistakes.

Nearly a year ago, Reid moved slowly to seek clarification from Obama when the President said, “You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime."

Forget for a moment that, in context, the President was right. It wasn’t proper for banking institutions to take federal bailout dollars and use the money to reward underlings with party junkets. But Reid’s hesitation damaged him and made him look more like Obama’s man than Nevada’s protector in chief.

On Tuesday in New Hampshire Obama said, “"You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college."

No, of course you don’t. But you also don’t put down the American city that not only sports the most casinos, but also has the biggest chip on its shoulder of any place in the land.

This time, Reid responded immediately with a rebuke of the President. Why, you’d almost think it was a planned event Reid’s aides moved his statement so swiftly.

Reid’s statement:

“I just spoke to the White House and told them that while the President is correct that people saving for college need to be fiscally responsible, the President needs to lay off Las Vegas and stop making it the poster child for where people shouldn’t be spending their money.

“Nevada is the nation’s top destination for tourism and conventions. It is more popular than any other place in the country, and for good reason: it’s affordable, easy to get to from anywhere and the weather is perfect.

“To truly reenergize our economy, we need people to travel to Las Vegas. I would much rather tourists and business travelers spend their money in Las Vegas than spend it overseas.”

Just how fast was Reid this time?

He beat Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman to the “Vegas Outrage” button, a feat seldom seen in these parts.