LVRJ: Will McCain's gambling stance scare voters?

[clevfan]

Feb. 12, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Will McCain's gambling stance scare voters?

Casino industry not worried despite hopeful's earlier support of bet ban

BY TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- The casino industry is not worried Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., might resurrect a plan to prohibit Nevada sports books from taking bets on college football and basketball games if he becomes president, according to the industry's chief lobbyist.

"The world has changed," said Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association.

McCain began pushing the sports betting ban in 2000 when he first ran for president.

After being repeatedly outmaneuvered by Nevada lawmakers and casino lobbyists, McCain acknowledged in 2005 that Congress would not pass a ban until another gambling scandal occurred on a college campus. McCain also predicted there would be another scandal.

But Fahrenkopf said support for a sports betting ban faded when new leadership at the NCAA decided it would not be a priority.

Since then, the casino industry has forged a "tremendous working relationship" not only with the NCAA but also with the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, Fahrenkopf said.

Now, Fahrenkopf said, "Most believe we are the canary in the mineshaft with regard to detecting point shaving and fixing of games."

Calls to McCain's campaign and the NCAA were not returned.

While McCain's sponsorship of the college sports betting ban set off alarms in Nevada's top industry, "John never indicated concern about any other aspect of gaming," Fahrenkopf said.

Fahrenkopf, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said he is not sure McCain can win Nevada in November if he is the GOP presidential nominee.

"It depends on who he is running against," Fahrenkopf said. "I think he stands a much better chance if he's running against (Sen. Hillary) Clinton (D-N.Y.) than (Sen. Barack) Obama (D-Ill.)."

Obama would be able to attract independent voters and even some moderate Republicans in Nevada, "which wouldn't happen if Clinton is the Democratic nominee," Fahrenkopf said.

Since 1988, Fahrenkopf has served as co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates. He said he knows McCain better than any of the other previous presidential nominees in the last 20 years.

"I don't think it will make any difference in the debates. We do these things fairly," Fahrenkopf said.

[Dell Dude]

I will be voting for either Obama or Hillary. First time I will ever vote for a Democrat. Rush Limbaugh will probably be voting for Obama or Hillary. Ann Coultier already said she will campaign for Hillary if Mccain is the nominee. No way I want this hothead midget in the Oval Office.

[Muddy]

I wonder how many times McCain was raped in Vietnam!

I swear something is wrong with this guy!

[Dell Dude]

Mccain's got no shot against Obama Bin Laden. Who you think women are going to vote for?

This:

Or this:

Party like a Barack Star

Women 'falling for Obama'
12/02/2008 12:02 - (SA)

College Park, Maryland - You can see it in their flushed-face smiles and hear it in their screams. They say the phenomenon is difficult to describe, but once they experience it they tell their friends, sisters, mothers and daughters, and they come back for more if they can.

"He's very charismatic. It was a 'you-had-to-be-there' kind of experience," said Lolita Breckenridge, 37, after hearing Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama address a packed rally at the University of Maryland on Monday.

A dedicated supporter, she brought two of her friends to hear the Illinois senator deliver one of his much-talked-about speeches.

"Not too much of the speech was new to me," she admitted. "But hearing him live..." she trailed off, shaking her head and grinning.

When Obama addressed the crowd of 16 000 on the eve of primaries which he is tipped to win in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC, he carried himself with his habitual worldly confidence, interspersed talk of foreign policy with recollections of his childhood and even poked political fun at his Republican adversaries.

He did not flinch when women screamed as he was in mid-sentence, and even broke off once to answer a female's cry of "I love you Obama!" with a reassuring: "I love you back."

[Bostongambler]

Thats just what we need, Clarke Gable in the White House.

[Bostongambler]

And Mccain has to stop that nervous blinking he does... Very unbecoming for a White House wantabe

[Don Eagleston]

No, but he will lose anyway.

[Uncle B]

Originally Posted by Don Eagleston

No, but he will lose anyway.

I sure as Hell hope you're right.