By Michael Marley

HOLLYWOOD—Cagey boxing promoter Bob Arum makes few mistakes but, on the rare occasion when he does, his miscues can be enormous.

The soon to be age 79 year old Harvard Law and US Attorney's Office graduate is making a mistake by disrupting Manny Pacquiao's already behind schedule Hollywood training camp now by asking the Filipino Congressman to make an appearance Friday night in Las Vegas for Arum crony Senator Harry Reid.

The House Whip, a liberal Democrat like Arum, is in the political fight of his life against Republican candidate Sharron Angle.

To give you an idea of how serious political dabbler Arum is taking the Reid-Angle fight, I said to him jokingly that Antonio Margarito was going to endorse Angle.

"If he does," Arum snapped, "then he won't get paid!"

See Clark County, Nevada, Elections Examiner David Phillips or "horse race" between Reid and Angle.

Ironically, Angle's campaign invoked Pacman's good name in front of a “Little Manila” (a Vegas neighborhood, not far from The Strip) crowd of voters during her primary election campaign.

Now Reid, a onetime amateur boxer who grew up in remote Searchlight, is going Angle one better with his own Pacquiao angle.

A check of the major polls Wednesday night show Angle holding a slight edge over President Obama's politcal ally Reid in a season of dissatsifaction with nearly all incumbents across economically battered America.

"Manny's appearance, yeah that will tip the election for Harry,” Orange County Register sports columnist Mark Whicker said at the Wild Card Gym on Pacman Media Day.

Yes, he was joking.

I say this disruption of Pacquiao's schedule on a day when he has to run in the morning, train in the afternoon at the gym and then fly back and forth (about one hour) to Vegas for a brief campaign rally appearance is foolish.

Pacman just arrived in Los Angeles Saturday night from Manila by way of Baguio.

On Sunday, a day off from training and a day when he should've been resting to counter jet lag from the 12 hour flight, Pacquiao drove down to San Diego to act as a basketball coach in a game involving some of his friends.

When Pacman is flying to and from Vegas and sharing a stage with Reid, Nov. 13 fight foe Antonio Margarito will be nice and comfortable, doing what a fighter should be doing two weeks before a vital fight.

Pacman will be in the air while the Mexican is resting in Oxnard, 60 miles north of LA.

There's no reason for this disruption or distraction except that Arum wants to help his bosom buddy.

I just hope Team Pacquiao doesn't look back and use this goofy trip as an excuse if Manny somehow loses to the 6 ½ to 1 betting underdog at Cowboys Stadium.