‘Harry, this is Barack’: Obama surprises Reid during radio talk show

By Ric Anderson, J.D. Morris

Published Friday, March 27, 2015 | 10:17 a.m.

Updated Friday, March 27, 2015 | 11:10 a.m.

During an appearance by Sen. Harry Reid this morning on KNPR’s “State of Nevada” talk show, the program received a surprise caller.

“You’re on,” said the show’s host, Joe Schoenmann.

“Harry, this is Barack,” said the caller, President Obama.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Reid replied.

“Are you allowed to say that on live radio?” Obama asked.

Obama’s call was the highlight of Reid’s hour-long appearance on the program, his first interview since announcing hours earlier that he would not seek another term in the Senate.

The president praised Reid as a close political partner and friend who played a critical role in the passage of such major legislation as the Affordable Care Act and the president’s economic recovery initiative.

“Harry is unique, and he’s got that curmudgeonly charm that is hard to replace,” Obama said. “I’m going to miss him. But the good thing is I’m going to get to leave this place at the same time. The system works better when over time some new blood comes in. We’ve had a great run. But what we want to do is make sure we squeeze as much out of these next couple of years as we can.”

Discussing Reid’s character, Obama alluded to the senator’s upbringing in an impoverished household led by an alcoholic father in Searchlight.

“I don’t know anybody who understands more his roots, where he came from, what it means to not have anything when you’re born and to scratch and scrape to get something,” Obama said. “He’s never forgotten the path he took, and he knows there’s Searchlights across the country.”

Obama said Reid would be remembered for doing more for Nevada than any other senator.

“Although Nevada still has challenges, obviously, because of the situation with the housing market (and) some of the challenges in the hospitality industry … it would be so much worse off and in such a bigger funk and people’s homes would be worth so much less if not for the really tough and courageous actions that Harry took,” he said.

On other topics, Reid said he had spoken with former Nevada Atty. Gen. Catherine Cortez Masto about running for the seat in 2016. He predicted a “rout for Democrats” in the election, saying Republicans had weakened themselves through a series of controversies since winning control of all state offices and both chambers of the state Legislature in 2014. Among the scandals: Speaker-elect Ira Hansen stepping down after the uncovering of racist newspaper columns he’d written, and the ouster of Assemblywoman Michele Fiore as chair of the tax committee after revelations that she owed more than a million dollars in outstanding IRS tax liens.

“I think it would be hard for (Cortez Masto) to lose,” Reid said. “We have a 100,000 majority Democratic vote. We’ve got a Nevada state legislature that is Republican-directed that is making a farce of the legislative process and we’ve got constitutional officers that are doing some strange things.:

Asked whether he felt Cortez Masto would struggle against Gov. Brian Sandoval should the governor decide to seek Reid’s seat, Reid said “whoever runs against Catherine will be a loser.”

However, he said he had nothing bad to say about Sandoval.

“Brian Sandoval has done a very fine job as governor,” he said. “He’s been a courageous governor especially in light of the legislature he has to work with.”

Cortez Masto hasn’t made any announcements about whether she will run for Reid’s seat, but he left little room for doubt that she will. Asked by a caller on the program whether he would support a “vigorous” Democratic primary, Reid said firmly: “Catherine Cortez Masto wants to run.”

“She’s a great candidate, and I think she would do extremely well,” he said. “But it’s a free country, and if people want to run against her, they should do that.”

Reid also was unapologetic about a recent Homeland Security inspector general's report that said he helped speed along the visa process for foreign investors in the SLS Las Vegas hotel-casino. He said that report came from "a bunch of whiners at the Department of Homeland Security."

In fact, he said he may take similar action for Resorts World Las Vegas, which breaks ground on the north end of the Strip May 5. He said that if there's a way for him to help that project secure more visas for its foreign investors, he’ll do it.

Additionally, Reid indicated that he's open to legislation that would ban online gaming, backed by Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson.

He said he thought online poker, which is legal in Nevada, would be good for the state. But he doesn't support gambling on the Internet in general.

"I believe that online gaming is not good for our country," he said.

The online gaming ban was heard by some members of the House of Representatives this week. If it passes the House, Reid said the Senate would seriously consider it.