Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has a very busy schedule. After all, the city has a budget deficit, and even after that, Goodman has to bolster tourism to keep the local economy running, and Vegas has had some setbacks on that front. Goodman doesn’t have time for frivolities … like accepting a meeting with the President of the United States on his next visit:

Mayor Oscar Goodman has refused an invitation to meet with President Obama when he arrives in town on Thursday. Mayor Goodman called President Obama a slow learner after he told Americans not to blow money on a weekend in Las Vegas if they were saving to put their kids through college.

“I’ve got other things to do quite frankly for my constituents here in Las Vegas who rely on me to do the right thing as a mayor,” explained Mayor Goodman. …

“I haven’t heard an apology, I haven’t heard a response, all I do is get invitations,” Goodman went on to say.

Obama’s going to Vegas? I thought if we were saving for a college education, we shouldn’t blow money on the casinos. Doesn’t the same axiom apply if we’re saving to nationalize the student-loan industry? I guess this must be Obama’s way of showing patriotism, after Harry Reid’s stern lecture on the subject.

Honestly, though, Goodman’s overplaying his hand. The first comment Obama made about Las Vegas was objectionable, but the comment from earlier this month wasn’t an attack on the city, but just common sense — although Obama probably should have avoided mentioning Las Vegas by name and stuck with the generic “casinos” reference. Regardless of party, an invitation from the President to meet with a mayor while visiting a city should be treated with respect for the office, at the least.

As I suspect that I’ll be in the minority on this point, let’s take a poll: