Harry Moroz

Short Shrift in ‘88 and ‘08

On this date exactly 20 years ago, on the eve of the presidential race between Governor Dukakis and Vice President Bush, the New York Times published an article entitled “Urban Issues Get Short Shrift in ’88 Campaign”:

“In the 60's,” Mr. Schumer said, “urban issues were the centerpiece. And you think to now when you have to struggle to get people to discuss them. In fact, the country can't survive without its urban centers prospering. But the politics hasn't caught up with that reality.”

In recent posts, I’ve described signs that a President Obama will turn his attention to urban issues. But a bit of skepticism is always healthy. Back in April, Politico interviewed DMI's Andrea Batista Schlesinger about the lack of discussion of cities in the ’08 presidential campaign.

The title of the article? “Urban issues get short shrift.”

(NB: Short shrift "was a brief penance given to a person condemned to death so that absolution could be granted before execution.")

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Posted at 12:13 PM, Nov 07, 2008 in Cities | Election 2008 | Urban Affairs
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