Las Vegas Review-Journal - Steve Sebelius Slash Politics

I asked U.S. Sen. Harry Reid today if he had anything to say to those critics who predicted he may not even file for re-election. With a characteristic, wan smile, he held up a folder of election documents containing the receipt for his official filing papers and said simply, “Copies of everything are right here.”

Translation: Reid is most definitely not going to call it a day and look for a soft landing elsewhere.

After handing over a cashier’s check for $500 and his Nevada driver’s license for copying, Reid signed the official papers shortly after 10 a.m. and became a candidate for re-election to a fifth term in the Senate. He offered some brief remarks to assembled journalists in a conference room at the secretary of state’s offices, and even started with a joke. “I had everything written down on my hand, but I washed my hand,” he said. Take that, less sanitary Sarah Palin!

After a brief biography — born in Searchlight, married to high-school sweetheart, 20 years in private law practice, service in the state Assembly, as lieutenant governor, on the Gaming Commission, in the House and finally in the Senate — Reid spoke for a short time on jobs. The comments were obviously a reaction to criticism he received last week when he said that “only” 36,000 jobs were lost last month, something he pronounced “a good thing.” Reid’s meaning — repeated today — was that it could have been a lot worse.

“My No. 1 job is to keep working to create jobs,” Reid said. He cited a couple of upcoming bills that he said will do just that, including a bill to re-authorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. “So, there are a lot of good things going on,” he said, adding, “We just have to look at the glass being half full rather than half empty.”

As for his chances, Reid cited a recent poll that shows him winning in a general election matchup that includes third party candidates and a “Tea Party” representative. And, asked if he could win the race, Reid had yet another, simple reply: “I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t.”

Tags: Harry Reid

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