Manny Pacquiao stumps for Senator Harry Reid in Las Vegas -- Examiner

By Robert Herriman, Examiner.com

World champion boxer and Philippines congressman Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao appeared before the excited crowd at a “get-out-the-rally” at William E. Orr Middle School with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday in support of the reelection of Reid.

The crowd estimated in the hundreds, some donning boxing gloves and Pacquiao T-shirts, showed up for the rally.

Pacquiao, a congressman in his home country of the Philippines, spoke to the Reid supporters for approximately a minute, but that was all it took the fire up the crowd.

In addition, Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank and Pacquiao’s promoter, introduced the duo and had this to say to the crowd: “This is not campaign rhetoric; we gotta send a message to Sharron Angle. We gotta tell these people that enough is enough.”

Reid capitalized on the event by talking about Pacquiao’s childhood struggles and rise to the top. He also told the heavily populated Filipino crowd of his involvement in passing the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, which restored VA benefits for Filipino veterans who fought in World War II.

After the event, Pacquiao hobnobbed with the crowd autographing boxing gloves.

Speaking about the Reid rally, one man said, ““I think he (Reid) got an extra 15,000 votes, you have a lot of boxing fans here and a lot from the Filipino community. They’re gonna vote for him.”

Harry Reid is currently fighting for his political life in a battle with Republican candidate Sharron Angle. The most recent Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Nevada finds Angle with 49% support to Reid’s 45%.

Source: examiner.com