Without a hint of irony, Harry Reid - the man who just the other day compared critics of his health care plan to supporters of slavery - went on the floor of the Senate to whine that Republicans are trying to "denigrate" and "embarrass" him over the report earlier today by ABC News that Reid proposed taking the weekend off so he could attend a fundraiser in New Orleans.

Here is Reid's statement in which he announced that the fundraiser has been canceled (ht Politico):

I THINK THAT THIS DEBATE HAS REALLY COME TO A POINT THAT I'VE RARELY SEEN IN THE SENATE -- IN FACT, I'VE NEVER SEEN IT -- TO HAVE MY FRIENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AISLE COME TO THE FLOOR AND IN SOME WAY TRY TO EMBARRASS OR DENIGRATE ME BY VIRTUE OF THE FACT THAT -- IN FACT, TRYING TO EMBARRASS ME.

BUT THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND, ANY EVENTS I HAD SCHEDULED THIS WEEKEND HAVE BEEN CANCELED. EVENTS I HAD LAST WEEKEND HAD BEEN CANCELED. FOUR OR FIVE OF THEM. SO I'M -- TO SAY THE LEAST, I -- I WOULD NEVER, EVER INTENTIONALLY COME TO THE FLOOR AND TRY TO TALK TO SOMEBODY ABOUT HAVING HAD A FUND-RAISER AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE TRYING TO GET OUT OF HERE. THE REASON THAT I LAID OUT TO THE SENATE WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A REASONABLE SCHEDULE. ...  I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE BECAUSE WE'VE WORKED PRETTY HARD HERE TO HAVE A DAY OR TWO OFF.

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