politics

Every so often I'm asked by people who don't live in D.C. what it's like being in D.C. during a big political event like, say, this election.

The answer is, it's not much different. There might be a few more people who pay attention to the politics, since there are definitely more people who are paid to pay attention to politics. But for someone who isn't working in the government or dealing with the feds only occasionally does the being geographically near the workings of power change my perception.

For example, this morning several news sites ran a story on Dick Cheney having heart problems and going into the hospital. Of course, the focus was on the fact that the Vice President of the United States was experiencing a health problem, even if relatively minor. This is news.

In D.C., the perspective is a bit different; for a local blog the news wasn't the Vice President's heart trouble. The real news was the traffic impact Cheney's motorcade would have on people trying to navigate the streets near the hospital.

That's how politics affects you differently living in D.C. - the big issues aren't any different (unless you happen to be one of the people actually working on them). But the actual workings of government can actually touch you in a tangible way.