Editor's Note
We hear the issues rattled off by candidates like a grocery list. The economy. Healthcare. Iraq. But issues are about people: working families struggling to pay the bills, baby boomers with skyrocketing medical bills, soldiers coming home minus a limb or suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
With people in mind, today we launch a three-part series by Charles P. Pierce that will run between now and the November election. Each story will focus on one town. How are we picking the places? Easy. For today’s piece on the economy, we went to the state’s poorest city. For our next one, in August, just before the conventions, we’ll address healthcare by spending time in the state’s sickest city. Finally, in November, we’ll talk about the war by visiting a community that has felt its impact more than any other across the state. These are the sort of places the candidates should be seeing and talking about. Since they’re not, we will. 