An electric FrontBurnervian points us to this story in the sports section of the New York Times comparing San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom with Mayor Tom Leppert. You see, Leppert’s a Republican, and when he played, he was a right-handed pitcher. But wait. You won’t believe this. When Newsom played, he was a lefty! And he’s a Democrat. Get it? The Times says:
Their states fit the red and blue pattern. Their cities stand in even greater contrast. There is probably no American municipality more closely tied to liberal causes than San Francisco, home of the Giants. And the Rangers, who play in Arlington, Texas, but are the newly minted pride of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, were once run by the man championed as a compassionate conservative, former President George W. Bush, who has remained visible as a fan during the team’s first run to the Series.
Good grief. That’s a stretch worthy of the seventh inning. Did you catch that? The writer sets out to compare the two cities, San Fran and Dallas, but then compares San Fran to — George W. Bush. Gimme a break. And let’s not forget that Dallas County is actually blue, not red.
I’m sure if I gave it some thought, I could come up with some reasons why San Francisco and Dallas were a lot alike. I think I’d start with the new buildings in the Arts District and point out that the architects responsible have also recently made their mark in San Fran.
So to the Times I say: that is not the way journalism go.
(Bonus: our FBvian notes that sometime D Magazine contributor Allison V. Smith took the portrait of Leppert. Snap!)
