Gin, girls, and governance.

• Author: Balko, Radley
• Position: Soundbite - Interview

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In February, President Barack Obama told a New Hampshire audience, "You don't blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you're trying to save for college." Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman was still livid when the president came to town shortly afterward, and Goodman made headlines by refusing to meet with Obama during his visit. Goodman, a former mob attorney, is also famous for telling a fourth-grader that if he were stranded on a deserted island, the one thing he'd bring with him is a bottle of gin, later amended to a bottle of gin and two showgirls.

Originally elected as a Democrat in 1999, Goodman now has no party affiliation. Senior Editor Radley Balko interviewed the mayor in February, days before Goodman dissed the commander in chief.

Q: What shaped your political philosophy?

A: I'm a criminal defense lawyer by profession, so I have an inherent distrust for government. I rarely put a client on the witness stand. I usually made my case by showing the government didn't behave properly, either under the Constitution or by its methodology. That's a pretty successful way to practice criminal law.

Q: Is personal freedom today more threatened by the moral crusaders on the right or the public health crusaders on the left?

A: Both. I think they both have a tendency to want government to address personal behavior. I'm not in favor of that. I don't like smoking bans. If people want to kill themselves slowly, that's their prerogative. There needs to be a national discussion about the legalization of drugs and about the legalization of prostitution, I'm sometimes mischaracterized as supporting those positions, and I certainly understand that some people may not be ready for these sorts of changes. But I think we certainly need to have the discussion, about both the benefits and possible detriments of legalization.

Q.: Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court decision lifting campaign restrictions on corporations have mused that it could open the door to NASCAR-style corporate sponsorship of politicians. You actually have a corporate sponsor. How did that happen?

A: A friend who worked for the liquor industry knew l...