DC Political Elites Out of Touch?

Liberaltarian — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:54:05 EDT

..And in other shocking news, the sky is blue! The Pope is Catholic! Economists are myopic!

The Washington Post has a great article today about how many national political figures who live in DC, and are "representing" DC at the DNC next week, are clueless about DC itself:

Harold Ickes is the prototypical insider, a career political operative who knows as much about how Washington works as anyone. Just don't ask the former Clinton White House official and Democratic superdelegate what ward he lives in.
"Oh boy," Ickes said recently by phone. "It's either 2 or 7. I live in Georgetown."
Or who represents him on the D.C. Council.
"Don't know."
Or the name of the public schools chancellor.
"I don't know the name, an Asian woman."
If Ickes isn't plugged into the local political scene -- correct answers: Ward 2, Jack Evans and Michelle A. Rhee -- that's because there have long been two separate and distinct Washingtons. One is federal, the other local, and rarely do those in these two worlds think of one another.

Though that last sentence isn't really correct. I know the writer was going for a semblance of "balance," but the fact is that local-DC politicians are acutely aware of what's happening on Capitol Hill. Congress has veto power over DC, and not vice-versa. Reminds me of the roving racists in Youth for Western Civilization, hosting Tom Tancredo speeches in diverse communities.

Perhaps it's best described by stealing a line from Stephen Colbert's epic win of a Correspondents Dinner performance: "DC is a chocolate city too, with a marshmallow center."

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DC Political Elites Out of Touch?