The DavidCyrus Blog of Wisdom

Comparing Entertainers and Minnesotans; Who's Really Got Heart & Soul?

The Republican Right is up in arms about John Kerry's praise to entertainers at a recent fund raiser in New York. George W. Bush's recent statements in Duluth, Minnesota criticize John Kerry's praise that the entertainers represent the heart and soul of America.

Bush says the heart and soul is found in places like Duluth. Dismiss this as a campaign cliche if you will, but I wanted to take a look at the make-up of Duluth, to see just what Bush is calling America's heart and soul.

Would it have a wide mix of diversity? Apparently no- Duluth is over 92% White, with only 1.6% Black, and 1.1% Hispanic.

Maybe Duluth holds an employment and/or crime record that embodies the heart and soul of America. No again. Duluth averaged 5.8% unemployment for the first five months of 2004, higher than the national average of 5.6% for the same period.

Perhaps the crime in Duluth is a beacon of America's heart and soul? Nope- Duluth has a markedly poorer crime index than the national average, and stands out particularly in the "Forcible Rape" category, with the poor women (and men) of Duluth suffering nearly 85% more rapes than the national average.

So what is Bush saying with his "heart and soul" proclamation? Why use the brand of "heart and soul" on a town that is overwhelmingly white and has a failing of excessive forced sex? I, for one, would prefer a drunken Whoopie Goldberg as my "Heart and Soul" representative, if the alternative is something akin to the Skull & Bones fraternity.