Originally posted at www.bobgiloth.com.
"The Democratic nominee [Obama partisans] say should be viewed less as the first urban candidate in a long time than as the first metropolitan candidate..."
Alec MacGillis, "The High Rise of the First Metropolitan Candidate," Washington Post, October 26, 2008
Let's wait and see how the geographic voting patterns turn out before we draw big conclusions about support for Obama's candidacy.
At this moment in history I prefer a national candidate who can focus on our economy and international relations. All these urban, rural, metro, and regional tags seem less relevant given the big picture at the moment and may even get in the way of building the kinds of coalitions needed to address the tasks ahead.
And contradictory policy preferences sometimes confuse the meanings of geographic tags. Anti- poverty advocacy is associated with urban policy; yet much poverty is rural. Who supports the EITC? Likewise, much predatory lending exploits residents of southern towns and cities, but curbing these abuses is not at the top of the agenda for many southern legislators.