Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Alabama In Between

"Pennsylvania is Philadelphia on one side, Pittsburgh on the other and Alabama in between."

I've always heard that quote attributed to HL Mencken (or James Carville) but it turns out no one is quite sure who originally said it.

The Democratic primary reminded me of it. Listening to the execrable warblings of the shallow fatheads on NPR this morning, drumroll please, "Race was a factor in Pennsylvania." Oh my, really?

An aside: Why aren't Democrats in general blushingly proud of the fact that their party offers up both a woman and an African American? At a time when the best the Repubs can do is float yet another old white guy?

The good folks at ImprovEverywhere offer this brief meditation on race in America, set in Aspen, Colorado but just as trenchant for, say, State College, PA.

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