Ronnie Nathanielsz is outraged – outraged I tell ya! – about Manny Pacquiao flying to Las Vegas last week to attend the political rally of Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader. The event adds another entry to the laundry list of distractions for Pacquiao in the training for his November 14 fight against Antonio Margarito.

Now, I’ll leave it up to all of you to discuss whether this particular incident was a bigger distraction than, say, Pacquiao being linked to Ara Mina and Krista Ranillo, or the boxer preparing for a grueling election campaign himself. I want to point out something much more interesting, that the local media will probably gloss over after all the handwringing.

Reid, a friend of Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum, is in one of the most interesting battles in the United States midterm election. Despite being the highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, he’s neck-and-neck against Sharron Angle, a candidate out of the “Tea Party”, a conservative movement that has steadily been taking over the Republican Party. Angle’s controversial campaign has featured an anti-Latino theme, featuring menacing looking Latino men, while harping on the message that Reid is the “best friend an illegal alien ever had.”

Meanwhile, Reid has played up his connection to Nevada’s burgeoning immigrant population, reaching out not just to Latinos but to Filipinos as well. During Pacquiao’s appearance, Reid reminded the crowd of his role in passing the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, which restored benefits for . Reid’s support for immigration reform promises to be appealing to Filipino-American voters as well.

Curiously, Pacquiao and Arum aren’t the only big names involved in combat sports who have come out for Reid. MMA legends Randy Couture, Frank Mir, and Chuck Lidell, as well as UFC president Dana White, have also thrown their support behind the incumbent senator.