Reid Still Ignoring Carter

"Reid remains a man on a mission" titles the Las Vegas Sun. However, you have to wonder what kind of mission he's on when you read a paragraph like this one:

If the election were held today, Democrats would pick up five Senate seats, which would lead to a 50-50 chamber, Reid predicted. His list of five favorable races - Pennsylvania, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Rhode Island - did not include Nevada, where Democrat Jack Carter is challenging Nevada's junior Sen. John Ensign, a Republican.

So, what's the deal here? Everyone knows he has some non-aggression pact with Ensign, though I thought they went out of fashion a long time ago. Is Reid afraid the Republicans will put up a credible opponent in 2010 and beat him? Or that Ensign will come back after a closely lost race against Jack Carter? I just can't help it. I smell fear here.