MeninoWatch: Mayor Wants Federal Agenda for Cities, Endorses Clinton Anyway

Political junkies have divided the last few months between obsessing over Iowa and New Hampshire and complaining about how much energy is wasted obsessing over Iowa and New Hampshire. Those states, the argument goes, are too white and too small and too rural to represent the country at large. But, while true, it always seems dismissive and elitist (possibly because we're writing this on a iPhone while stopped at a light in a Prius Zipcar.)

Mayor TV, an online video project of left-wing publication The Nation and the Drum Major Institute, tries to focus attention on urban issues by interviewing the chief executives of eight cities. Unsurprisingly, the mayors feel that urban policy isn't given enough federal attention.

Our own Tom Menino overstates the case by claiming, "There's no conversation and no coverage of urban issues in the media, and that's very unfortunate." He lists his own priorities as "education, creation of economy, housing and public safety. Those are the four topics that every presidential candidate should talk about, should not be afraid of talking about."

His endorsed presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, hasn't exactly been on a zealous crusade for the future of the American city: An urban agenda isn't one of the twelve major issues listed on her campaign website. But this speaks less about Senator Clinton than the peculiar structure of our process for picking a president.

There's little electoral incentive in addressing difficult issues about urban life, which is why Barack Obama (who's spent his adult life in Chicago, New York City and Cambridge/Somerville) has a page laying out his plan for rural America without anything comparable for us. Between New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and the enduring popularity of John Mellencamp, we don't stand a chance.

Here's Menino on Mayor TV:

Post contributed by Gerard Sloan. Mayor TV video posted by VideoNation on YouTube.