Either a Bold Stand or a Conflicted Man

In the category of non-news, this Harry Reid (D-Nev.) quote is nonetheless striking coming from a guy who once headed the Nevada Gaming Commission. From an interview with Baltimore’s WJZ-TV yesterday (Maryland is considering a proposal to allow slots in certain counties):

I’m not a big fan of gambling. I do everything I can to protect Nevada’s # 1 industry. I’m not someone that promotes gambling. I think that the social costs far outweigh any economic benefit. There are studies that show that. I believe that people have to be very cautious of what they do. Facts are, the poorer you are, the more tendency there is to gamble and that’s not me talking, that’s facts. I think we have to be very careful that we don’t try to make gambling a cure-all for all of our economic ills in this country.