Politirazzi

By David

The way most presidential elections play out, you’d think that the big issues facing the country are the demise of the family farm and the decline of the industrial base, while the 70 percent of us who live in urban areas are like the voters of Florida and Michigan: forgotten, forlorn, and dismissed.
At least that’s the way Inga Saffron sees it. The architectural critic for Philly Inquirer, she calls out the three candidates still standing for painting a picture of the United States as “a collection of Norman Rockwell small towns surrounded by picture-book farms. “

She goes on:

For Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the plight of rural farm families ranks among the urgent crises facing America. Republican John McCain frets about veterans, the unborn, outer space. But you won't hear much about aging cities on Earth fighting to keep their downtowns alive and their overcrowded commuter buses on the road. Cities just don't figure in the political imagination anymore.

She has a point. Out on the hustings, these guys are far more likely to be out touring chocolate factories or downing beers in American Legion Hall (both worthwhile activities, don’t get me wrong) than talking about important things, like gentrification, sprawl, why the 2 and 3 trains run so slow on weekends, etc.

Oddly, all the key issues—immigration, environmental sustainability, homeland security, all pass through cities in one way or another.

(continued)