How scared is Team Obama of losing Nevada? Scared enough to send Transportation Secretary LaHood to Nevada for what turned out to be a meaningless press conference announcing a development in high-speed rail between California and Nevada. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

If you applied for a really important job, would you throw a party to celebrate submitting an application? Even if you’re not sure you will get the job? Even if you’re not sure the job is even available?
Most people wait until they are offered a new position before uncorking the champagne.
Apparently that’s not how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s team rolls.
On Wednesday, Reid called local media to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus for a “major high-speed rail announcement.”
Reporters, most of whom have closely tracked the battle between the Reid-backed DesertXpress train and the magnetic levitation train backed by Gov. Jim Gibbons, expected Reid and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to announce that the steel-wheeled project received a chunk of vital federal funding or a significant investment from the private sector.
We walked away scratching our heads and doing the unthinkable: asking each other — asking the competition — what the heck just happened and whether anyone detected a major announcement or, for that matter, even a small piece of news. The answer was universally “nope.”
During a follow-up call to ensure we weren’t nuts, a Reid spokeswoman said the major news was that the DesertXpress folks were the first in Nevada to apply for federal loan guarantees under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program.
Submitting an application is big news?
Previously, those loans were designated solely for freight and light passenger rail.
“Even applying for this program is a big deal since it’s never been done,” Reid spokeswoman Meredith MacKenzie said.
This gathering and accompanying photo opportunity of Reid and LaHood was likely thought to be a good plug for Reid’s tight U.S. Senate race. Like a video of the two that Reid’s team posted on YouTube eight months ago, it showed that Reid is buddy-buddy with the guy who will write the check or at least push for a high-speed rail system. I’m apolitical so, believe me, this isn’t about Reid or his race or what he can or can’t do.
It simply seems as though, whether it is an official with California-Nevada Interstate Maglev or DesertXpress, these backers should realize that the public is skeptical about whether either of these proposals will come to fruition. So, if someone touts a major announcement, wouldn’t it be wise to wave around a big fat check?
Last year, President Barack Obama set aside $8 billion for high-speed rail systems. California, Florida and a planned Chicago to St. Louis route received that money. Neither of the Nevada project teams applied.
“Nevada did not submit any paperwork, any proposal for any high-speed rail money,” LaHood said in his YouTube video.
LaHood said Wednesday that another $2.5 billion is before Congress, and Nevada hopes to secure some of that funding for the DesertXpress’ route between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif.

The rest here.