Cities Rising

Yesterday's Washington Post talks about the anti-urban bias of American politics:

Is Obama's ascent a further sign...that our cities are back and that the country is making peace with its non-agrarian side? And would a big-city president address as never before the problems of our urban cores -- blighted housing, shoddy public transit, dismal schools?

Well, one can hope, but few of these problems have traditionally been considered national in scope -- the president doesn't build subways or set school curriculum for example.  Of course, the federal government does play an important role in funding local projects, and with economic crisis potentially leading to mass transit cuts, among other things, this role is even more important.

This part is encouraging:

One of the first interest groups [Obama] met with after securing the Democratic nomination in June was an alliance of bicycling advocates. 

Maybe they talked to him about how to make America more French.

(Photo from Flickr user glennharper. The original full-sized color version can be viewed by clicking the photo.)