Nation's First Primary Held Today

[crawjo]

In the town near where I grew up, and the town where I went to college, they held their primary today.

[Monte Smith]

My favorite quote from the article you referenced, crawjo:

"It's real slow. It's not exciting at all," said Blondine Hughes, a Howard Dean supporter handing out fliers for her candidate outside Precinct 58.

Like you, I also grew up in the orbit of DC. DC was the place where I worked at my first serious, professional job. Those days were back in the era of Mayor McCrackity's post-prison political tenure. What a place!

[crawjo]

It remains my favorite city, actually. I lived in New York for a brief time, and the thing I personally couldn't stand was how dirty it looked, and how tall all the buildings were, so tall they blocked your view of most of the sky. It created for me a kind of feeling of claustrophobia. I liked DC because the buildings were short, the streets were wide, and the sidewalks were clean. And it had plenty of cultural activity (but no baseball team, alas) while I was living there.

[Monte Smith]

I lived in NYC twice as long as I lived in DC and I'll take Manhattan. The architecture cheers me and unlike DC, here is a town where you can find a church, a store, a restaurant, a cleaners, an apartment, and a movie theater on the same block. With DC, its either stores or apartments or government buildings. No integration. In general, I mean. Also, though clean and good-looking, the vaunted DC Metro is expensive and has a very limited expanse. DC is OK for what it is, but it isn't an organic city. It's a capital.

[Tanager]

Originally posted by Monte Smith
I lived in NYC twice as long as I lived in DC and I'll take Manhattan. The architecture cheers me and unlike DC, here is a town where you can find a church, a store, a restaurant, a cleaners, an apartment, and a movie theater on the same block. With DC, its either stores or apartments or government buildings. No integration. In general, I mean. Also, though clean and good-looking, the vaunted DC Metro is expensive and has a very limited expanse. DC is OK for what it is, but it isn't an organic city. It's a capital.

I lived in DC for a long time as well (born and raised there), and there are (or were) several places where you can find those things in DC in the proximity you name - well, maybe not the same block, but within two or three blocks. And your analysis applies principally to Manhattan, I'd wager, not nearly so much to the outlying boroughs. BWTFDIK?

[Monte Smith]

BWTFDIK either? I lived in DC under Marion Barry and NYC under Giuliani. You do the math on which would be the better functioning municipality.

[Fred K]

I wouldn't argue that D.C. has as much to offer as Manhatten, but I live across the street from a church, a store and cleaners. There are easily a half dozen restaurants within 4 blocks, and I'm 3 blocks from the nearest movie theater. And there are 2 jazz clubs within 3 blocks.

[crawjo]

I lived in NYC twice as long as I lived in DC and I'll take Manhattan. The architecture cheers me and unlike DC, here is a town where you can find a church, a store, a restaurant, a cleaners, an apartment, and a movie theater on the same block. With DC, its either stores or apartments or government buildings. No integration. In general, I mean. Also, though clean and good-looking, the vaunted DC Metro is expensive and has a very limited expanse. DC is OK for what it is, but it isn't an organic city. It's a capital.

That's true. I'm not a big fan of organic cities. I'm a bit of a hermit, and when I go outside, I like to see the sky. I just don't like tall buildings. I lived in Foggy Bottom, and used to love going for walks to Georgetown, Adam's Morgan, or the Mall. A friend and I used to go to the open fields near the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Memorial and shag fly balls. It was fun. It didn't have all the immediacy of New York City, but it felt more like home for me.

[Monte Smith]

Good to know, Fred K. What neighborhood are you in? And can you get there on the Metro? Not from Georgetown, of course.

Another thing rotten about DC: the talk about what an "admirably planned town" it is. Yeah, it was admirably planned about three times with conflicting plans imposed on the city such that, unlike New York, you don't have the simplicity of a rational grid. You have a grid, and then quadrants, and then diagonals.

I can think of two good cinemas in the town. Two playhouses--one they shot Lincoln in. A single good multipurpose bureaucratic gubmint-funded cultural center. But then, of course, a coupla dozen world class *free* museums.

[Monte Smith]

Originally posted by crawjo

That's true. I'm not a big fan of organic cities. I'm a bit of a hermit, and when I go outside, I like to see the sky. I just don't like tall buildings. I lived in Foggy Bottom, and used to love going for walks to Georgetown, Adam's Morgan, or the Mall. A friend and I used to go to the open fields near the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Memorial and shag fly balls. It was fun. It didn't have all the immediacy of New York City, but it felt more like home for me.

I can understand your perspective, craw. That's respectable. Me, I like the zap and buzz of a huge capitalist metropolis. I'm running on the memory fumes of that now from where I am currently, half way between the disappointing burg of Seattle and the indisputable majesty of Mount Rainier.

As my homies and I used to sing, NY, NY. "If I can scrape by there, I can scrape by anywhere."

Salud!

[Monte Smith]

Hey anyone know who won the non-binding primary? I'm looking at all the media and no one is reporting on this.

Granted, it's less than an asterix, but still....

[crawjo]

Monte,

The Washington Post is keeping a vote tally as we speak. For those of you too lazy to click through the link, with 87 percent of the precincts reporting, the results are:

Dean - 42 percent
Sharpton - 35 percent
Braun - 12 percent
Kucinich - 8 percent
Assortment of yahoos or people I've never heard of - 3 percent

[Monte Smith]

Here's the tally with 96% of precincts reporting. i guess the shocker of this election is that Dennis Kucinich did so much better than "Vermin Supreme." I guess Dennis surged late and real had the big mo. He also beat perenniel lunatic Lyndon LaRouche who, if I am not mistaken, has out fund-raised Braun and Kucinich by a goodly amount. And yet he is not included in the debates...what standard are the Dems using these days??



Howard Dean 17,584_votes
43%

Al Sharpton 14,090_votes
34%

Carol Moseley Braun 4,776_votes
12%

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich 3,408_votes
8%

Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. 498_votes
1%

Florence Walker 246_votes
1%

Arthur H. Jackson Jr. 226_votes
1%

Vermin Supreme 144_votes
0%

Harry Braun III 83_votes
0%

Jeanne Chebib 43_votes
0%

Lucian Wojciechowski 37_votes
0%

[bostontricky]

Apparently Vermin Supreme is running for President, Emperor and Mayor. Check out his positions here.

[Monte Smith]

Originally posted by bostontricky
Apparently Vermin Supreme is running for President, Emperor and Mayor. Check out his positions here.

Huh. Vermin's main issue seems to be encouraging healthy dental habits. I support that, too!

[crawjo]

I predict Vermin replaces Cheney as the VP on the Republican ticket in '04.

[Monte Smith]

I'd have to take a good look at Cheney's gums before taking that bet.