Nevada's Governor Snubs the President
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Thanks, But No Thanks
Nevada Republican Governor Jim Gibbons is passing on a meet-and-greet photo opportunity with President Obama after Air Force One lands at the Las Vegas airport this evening. He's still mad at the President for making the statement earlier this year that "you can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gibbons says more than 400 conventions and business meetings have been canceled since then — so he won't be showing up tonight: "While I appreciate the offer, I am not interested in a handshake and a hello from President Obama, I am interested in an apology and plan to undo the damage the President did."
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Gibbons' actions seemed incongruent and that many politicians find an airport greeting a good time to press their case to the president.
Street Sense
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had some candid words for reporters when discussing infrastructure spending last week. LaHood was describing the government's promotion of what he calls livable communities in which it is "creating opportunities for people to get out of their cars" by focusing on bike paths and mass transit.
But LaHood didn't have a problem admitting, "It is a way to coerce people out of their cars, yes." He continued, "About everything we do around here is government intrusion in people's lives. So have at it."
Columnist George Will published a piece last week critical of LaHood's new-found fervor for government intervention calling him the "Secretary of Behavior Modification."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Boy Named Sue
The Guinness Book of World Records wants to name Jonathan Lee Riches as the most litigious man in the world. Although Riches is in prison at a Kentucky medical facility, The Spokesman-Review reports he has filed lawsuits against Somali pirates, Britney Spears, Plato, James Hoffa, various Buddhist monks, the Lincoln Memorial, the Eiffel Tower, Black History Month and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter — just to name a few.
Riches says he has filed more than 4,000 lawsuits, but that he objects to the names Guinness intends to call him including "The Litigator Crusader," "Johnny Sue-Nami" and "Sue-per-man."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He says the records book has no right to publish what he calls his legal masterpieces — so guess what? He's suing.
— FOX News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.