The Corner

City Desk

Politicians who place bets on their hometown sports teams are just looking for free publicity. But I sort of like what the mayors of Detroit and San Francisco are doing:

There will be no gift baskets, Texas barbeque, Dr. Pepper, Budweiser beer or St. Louis-style toasted ravioli exchanged following this year’s World Series between the Tigers and Giants.

Instead, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee have vowed to perform a day of community service in the victor’s city.

The cynic in me says they’re grandstanding. The idealist thinks this is kinda cool. The boy in me has just one thought: From the deepest part of my yearning soul, I hope Mayor Lee gets to spend a day in Detroit.

John J. Miller, the national correspondent for National Review and host of its Great Books podcast, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.
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