THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

It is something of a surprise that in a state that is home to Las Vegas, legal brothels and lots of sand, the best show in town is the governor. Jim Gibbons, the erstwhile quietly corrupt congressman and alleged assaulter of cocktail waitresses, is making quite a stir in his early months as the governor.

In the last few months, Mr. Gibbons, a Republican, announced a plan to turn coal into jet fuel to raise money (problematic, as Nevada has no coal to speak of) and proposed paying for a $3.8 billion shortfall in highway construction money by selling water rights under state highways (it turns out the state did not actually own the rights).

He told a local editorial board he could not pronounce the name of his energy adviser because she was “Indian” — she is Turkish — and vetoed a bill that would stop budget-busting tax breaks for builders of “green” buildings before issuing an executive order to end them anyway (with the exception of four companies).

Mr. Gibbons is the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into whether he failed to report gifts from a military contractor while serving in Congress. The governor, who would not be interviewed, has denied wrongdoing, and once suggested that Democratic operatives might have paid off newspaper reporters who have written about his troubles with the F.B.I.

And faced with a collapsing public education system and extensive state infrastructure needs, Mr. Gibbons at one point threatened to veto the $7 billion two-year state budget and shut down government largely over his desire for a security center in Carson City — an idea that law enforcement officials dislike — and his plan to save small businesses two hundredths of a percent on their taxes.

And his wife is no slouch either.

Mrs. Gibbons also announced a ban on alcohol in the governor’s mansion, but then concluded that when a wing of your home is named after a local liquor tycoon and the state has a long and storied history of imbibing at official events, it is best not to deny your guests a glass of wine.

Unfortunately, his clown show distracts from and interferes with the solutions to many serious problems facing Nevada. Problems that will no doubt continue during his time in office.