Obama and Original Sin

by Brian Howard

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Published: Aug 27, 2008

It's easy to forget that it all started right here. There's been a lot of talk about "the last eight years" this election season. Eight very long years ago, the country was at a crossroads. Fresh off eight years of unprecedented peace and economic prosperity, America was trying to decide whether to continue with the administration that delivered it, or scold the party over the outgoing president's unfortunate but ultimately — economically, diplomatically — trivial moral lapse.

With the election, in most pundits' minds, Al Gore's to lose, the Republican party descended on Philly in the early days of August 2000 ready to haze its squinty-eyed, tongue-tied legacy candidate.

Oh, how we laughed at the coverage of this alien circus in our midst, one that featured ridiculous performances by Chaka Khan and a Philly band named The Interpreters (whose career was by and large sunk by criticism of said appearance). We made puppets and shouted in the streets (watch it here: youtube.com/watch?v=xvqKTvyWrIg).

Then chads were dimpled, hung and counted; just about everything anyone had ever taken for granted about the whims of the American electorate was upended.

And, as it turns out, Philadelphia, we hosted Little Georgie's coming-out party. No, Philly didn't vote Bush. But it stings to be, essentially, ground zero for two terms of civil-rights butchering, foreign good will squandering, nation-unbuilding abominations.

It's tantalizing to think that tonight, as Barack Obama takes the stage at Denver's Invesco Field, it is most definitely (unless the spam I've been receiving lately is accurate) the beginning of the end of the dreadful George W. Bush era. A big win in Pennsylvania for Obama — prospects for which are doubtless improved by having our "third senator" on the ticket — would go a long way toward absolving us of the last eight years. We were there when it started. We've all got just two months to make things right.

Live Fringe Arts

I remember when the Philadelphia Fringe Festival was just a baby. Back in 1997, David Warner wrote a cover story for this paper called "The Fringetastic Five" about the creators of the very first Fringe. In 2004, the festival underwent a strange mitosis, splitting into its two-party party — a curated Live Arts festival and a free-for-all Fringe binge.

Both franchises, it seems, get better each year. Our guide (p. 17) to the next two-plus weeks of performance also seems to outdo itself annually. This year's, forged into existence by Carolyn Huckabay, Patrick Rapa and a flotilla of staff, interns and freelancers, gives you not just the lowdown on the big fancy shows, but all the down-and-dirty, that-could-be-cool-or-really-not offerings. Me, I'm dying to see the giant robot spider.

California Girl

This week we say farewell to a City Paper stalwart. Associate editor and veggie aficionado Tami Fertig is packing her bags for Los Angeles. "The short answer is my boyfriend got a job," says Tami. "The long answer is, well, I've lived in the Philly area for most of my life, and I know it well — maybe too well. So I figure now's my chance to get to know somewhere else. L.A. is sunny and there's good vegetarian food."

Tami, something of a produce fanatic in her own quiet way, masterminded our first-ever Farmers Market guide back in May. And it ruled.

"I loved writing about Philly's farmers markets," she says, "not only because people seemed to really appreciate it, but because talking to farmers was like some kind of therapy, so nice and relaxing. Made me want to quit journalism and become a farmer."

We've asked her to report back on the West Coast produce scene. "I'm hoping California is like one big Headhouse market. Everywhere you look, fruits and veggies. Even if it's not that way, I'm going to have a little yard out there, and I plan to start a garden, so I will send you a tomato and you can decide."

Good luck, Tami.

(bhoward@citypaper.net)

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