Jonetta Rose Barras, The Examiner
2008-02-14 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

Once upon a time Republicans and Democrats talked about an urban agenda. The Republicans actually had one, proffered in part by then-U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts. As I recall, the District's own At-Large Councilmember David Catania was on the architectural team; those were the days before he became upset with President Bush, left the party and morphed into an independent.

Not long after he won his first term, President Bill Clinton walked a stretch of Georgia Avenue NW and promised to bring aid to struggling small businesses. Three years later he was stripping the District of its federal payment in the name of a rescue. (But I digress.)

If the amount of time presidential candidates — either Republican or Democratic — spent in the District during the run up to the Potomac primary is any indication, the idea of an urban scheme is not a significant aspect of their domestic policy agenda.

Thus far, there has been little or no talk of intractable unemployment — the kind that has lasted so long, the unemployed don't show up anymore in reports. Almost nothing has been said about the continuing downward spiral of traditional public education — not even a hint about the advantages or disadvantages of No Child Left Behind — and whether any of the candidates intend to retool it. Hardly a word has been offered about juvenile crime or what youth advocate Kenny Barnes calls “current traumatic stress disorder,” a mental health condition he says afflicts children repeatedly exposed to violence.

Nothing. Nada about the ills of urban America, including D.C.

In fact, while folks in Maryland and Virginia were treated to multiple appearances by all of the major presidential candidates, including Republicans Sen. John “Mack is Back” McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the District received a stop-by and drive through. Voting rights and statehood advocates had hoped for a debate where their issue could be raised. To be fair, Sen. Barack Obama mentioned voting rights from the stage in Wisconsin where he was on Tuesday evening when District voters delivered him his most impressive win against Sen. Hillary Clinton.

It's a Rodney Dangerfield existence for District residents.

Don't cry for the nation's capital. Perhaps in Cleveland someone will talk about the structure and pedagogy for 21st Century public schools. Maybe in Philadelphia, someone will offer an anti-crime initiative. Maybe in Dallas, there will be an economic plan that goes beyond tax refund checks. Maybe someone will talk about more than the war in Iraq and health care. Many states and local governments already are fashioning their version of universal health care.

Instead of trying to divide the country's electorate — who has the black vote; who's got the white women; who habla Espanol — the media could provide a service by asking about candidates' urban agenda.

After all, there still are cities in America.