Small Change

I am privileged to work with some pretty bright people at NCPR, and none brighter than Adirondack Bureau Chief Brian Mann, whose op-ed, "Winning Small," in today's New York Times highlights the critical role voters in rural areas such as ours will play in next Tuesday's election. Control of Congress and the near-term course of US politics at home and abroad will be determined in large degree by whether a relative handful of Americans in small towns and rural counties turns out to support or to challenge the status quo. While winds of change are certainly in evidence, it remains to be seen if the trend can be translated into a redrawing of the political map after Election Day. As in many areas, the politics of the North Country are running hot, and often ugly. In part, this speaks to the even division and polarization of the electorate, and in part to the size of the pot at stake. In any case, this is one hand that nobody should be inclined to sit out.