The surname of Rory Reid, son of Harry and Nevada’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee, is conspicuously absent in his first television spot. Maybe, like Elvis, Siegfried, and Roy, Reid wants to be on a first-name basis with the locals. Or, perhaps, as Katherine Rizzo suggests, Reid “has concluded that branding himself as just ‘Rory’ will help avoid some confusion.”

I think Jon Ralston, a Nevada-based political analyst, has it right: “Reid the Younger” knows “his last name is a four-letter word.” Some proof: Reid’s campaign website has also been scrubbed of any mention of his father. A Google search shows “Harry” mentioned only in the website’s news clips. All in all, this is good news for Sharron Angle: If the son rejects the father, Nevadans may, too.