james west

Sure, it's hard to live in the spotlight, even if it's a local spotlight, like the one we shine on mayors. I can't think of many other jobs as thankless as being mayor, because the people who fancy themselves watchdogs are really, really into it and there's not much that escapes public scrutiny, even if "public" is limited to fewer than 500,000 folks. The current mayor of Washington, DC, Adrian Fenty, was raked over the coals of the local media for keeping his personal garage unlocked while his daughters' bikes were stolen. Of course he should know to lock the garage, but sheesh. I haven't heard that many disparaging radio show callers since Rush Limbaugh promised to move to Costa Rica if the health care bill passed. (Note to Rush: We're still waiting.)