The Revitalist

A columnist in the NY Times writes to say that the 2008 Presidential campaign should be a moment to talk about urban issues, but the candidates aren't (via CEOs for Cities). (We're hitting the op-ed pages lately.) As he points out about 80% of the US population lives in cities or suburbs. So aside from the big picture, easy soundbite topics like terrorism and health care, the candidates ought to address issues that are on the minds of urban dwellers. That would be transit, pollution, homelessness, public infrastructure, police and municipal services, among others. I suppose the candidates are afraid of turning off those fabled middle America primary voters who don't relate to New York City in all its concrete and steel weirdness. It would make for an interesting debate theme, though. What questions would you want asked?