http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=5708311

HAHAHA. Great tact, Mr Nutter.

I love it.

Nutter's more frank and forward than Bob Brady ever was.

I don't want a politician who "cares" about this city. I want one who admits what's wrong with it and tells me what he/she is going to do to fix it up.

ONLY TWO MORE MONTHS OF JOHN STREET! THE END IS NEAR! HALLELUJAH PRAISE JESUS!

Can we book a gospel choir to sing shanties near the NE corner of City Hall on the day Street leaves office?

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Don't forget:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spUJF...eature=related

Agreed.

But you're not going to solve these problems simply by confirming national stereotypes about the city with the Associated Press.

That is true.

John Street over all these years has very little to show as mayor other than his rather mediocre first term where he did manage to do some things tangible that everyone could see [remember the nasty junked car problem plaguing the city?]

I like the idea of putting city representatives in Harrisburg to mend fences with the General Assembly. Street helped sour our relationship with Harrisburg to the point of him becoming a pariah and a laughing joke among Assembly members.

Hopefully that will go away and we'll get some more legislation in our favor from our capitol.

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Don't forget:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spUJF...eature=related

We're not going to solve these problems by denying them either.

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Dude I've seen cops in uniform intentionally drop thier litter on the sidewalk in Philly. I think its great that the next mayor is willing to speak so frankly.

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Barack Obama on security, Iraq and Afghanistan. We need a Commander in Chief who knows the differences between Shii'a and Sunni.

Me too. It's so refreshing. Philly has a reputation for being filthy. It's not like someone in Alabama is going to read what Nutter said and say, "Really? I thought Philly was the cleanest place on earth." So let's admit the place is dirty and get to work.

While I'm not denying it's important, I'm more concerned about the quality of life for the people who actually live here than Philly's "national reputation".

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Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says, "I will try again tomorrow."

---Mary Anne Radmacher

I'd much rather have presumptive mayor Michael Nutter declare Philadelphia filthy than Ray Nagin. At least Nutter will be in a position to do something about the filth.

Great article. Thanks for posting.

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)

The sarcasm is undeserved this time, Foodie, and I for one am glad he was willing to share this with the Associated Press.

I hadn't made the connection between the two the way he did, but note that the AP writer noted two observations he made about Philadelphia in the lead paragraph:

(emphasis added)

Anyone recall me saying anything like this? It gets better:



I guess the Inquirer chose to run that suggestion of mine for Mike because Mike agreed with it even before I made it.

Pardon my digression, but this may be more relevant than you think:

I have a couple of friends who are big into the self-help movement -- they've written a book that's selling decently, have an online Web radio show and are working on a video Webcast program. (Here's their web site if you're curious. If you think the whole "Secret" business a bunch of hooey, don't hold this against them; if following advice of this type produces people as kind and decent as these two, there might just be something to it.) I was over at Darien's on Saturday -- I had a serious 'cue jones and Darien has a charcoal grill; I bought the ribs and cooked -- and they played some of their videos for me.

One of them had as its subject "cleaning up your space," both physical and mental. One of their big points was that when our space is cluttered with all kinds of junk, we don't feel good about ourselves: It hinders our ability to perform at our best, whether that junk is physical or mental. A lot of it is things we once used but no longer need; some of it may be things we never should have held onto but were too lazy to get rid of; some of it may be things -- or thoughts -- that are actively harming our ability to get what we want. Clear out this junk, they said, and you will feel better about yourself; feel better about yourself and you can work on the thoughts and attitudes that will enable you to achieve your goals.

If I'm not very much mistaken, this, in more words than he used, is exactly what Mayor-presumptive Nutter said to that AP reporter. The trash on the streets of Philly is a symptom of our poor self-image -- and I've written about that self-image before in the Inky, noting the difference between Philly's inferiority complex and my hometown's (short summary: Kansas Citians think their city is a wonderful place and resent how the rest of the country gives it short shrift; Philadelphians think their city really stinks and tend to agree with outsiders who trash it like they do*).

After having skimmed that Shamsud-din Ali thread over in Politics and read about More Of The Same, and after reading this AP story, I think that if making The Secret next year's "One City, One Book" choice would produce the needed changes in outlook, then let's all read it. Nutter's point is more than a little accurate: We stink because we consistently settle for less than the best than we are capable of. We allow the junk to accumulate, both on our streets and in our collective municipal psyche. It's time to clean up both.

*The funny thing about the Phillyblog crowd is that even those who agree with the negative judgements by and large agree because they're not willing to settle for less; they love this place and want to see it be what it can be. At least that's the impression I get from most of them.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." --Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Nutter didn't say these things in order to reinforce stereotypes about Philadelphia to a national audience - he's saying them to *us*, the citizens of Philadelphia and his likely future constituents. He's telling us he needs our help to change a fundamental attitude about the city - that things will never get better, that mediocre is as well as we can manage, that there's no hope trying because we're doomed to fail.

Frankly, it has nothing to do with a national audience. This is for internal consumption.