I wonder what it is about Scranton, but most of all I wonder if it’s good.  This has been the Electric City’s year, hasn’t it?  We’ve had “Scranton native” Hillary Clinton making an historic run for president, we’ve had “Scranton native” Joe Biden nominated for Vice President, we’ve had “Scranton native” Senator Bob Casey taking Barack Obama on a Commonwealth tour trying to drum up votes.  Of course, only Bob Casey is really a Scranton native in the truest sense.  Hillary and Joe lived there for a short time when they were little, but actually spent their formative years elsewhere.  Yet they call Scranton “home.”  Again I ask, is that a good thing?

I have an uneasy feeling that it isn’t.  Hillary grew up in the Chicago area and Biden grew up in Wilmington, Delaware.  They’re bigger cities which would arguably draw a connection with vastly more voters than a Scranton.  Why don’t these candidates identify with the larger demographic?  Why are these major politicians who are not really from Scranton saying they are?

The answer lies in the name.  Scranton is a famous name in American history.  The town that made the rails for the trains that let us settle the continent is an iconic name.  Scranton actually was the Electric City, first with a public trolley.  The first “McMansions” in America may have been built right in the Greenridge section.  Scranton was a vital, important, prosperous city.  I would love to believe that’s the reason the candidates who aren’t from Scranton say they are, because of Scranton’s famous name.  But I don’t believe it.

I think the answer is darker.  I think Scranton is a good place for politicians to call “home” because of the city it is today.  Scranton is on the Forbes’ list of “fastest dying cities.”  That’s probably an overstatement, but the point remains the same.  If you come from Chicago or Delaware, you’re a big city type who can’t be trusted.  If you “rose” from a famous but struggling small town, it suggests you have grit.

It probably isn’t an accident that “The Office” is set in Scranton.  The show works better in a city like Scranton.  Struggling schmos stuck in mundane melodrama reflective of their circumstances.  They’re in “The Office” in Scranton because they couldn’t get out, unlike those politicians who look back so fondly on a town they could only barely remember.  They are “from” Scranton, but somehow the implication is that they left and did better.  Lots of people think Scranton is benefiting from its latest fame.  Sorry, but the compliments seem too backhanded for me.