Got to love that person from Cleveland saying the crime infested Chicago is a better place to raise your children because of their love environment. Heck they paved over the environment. Tolerance, tell that to Louie Farraconman. Strong faith, like the kind found at Trinity? Yea, right.

Kabookey, PITTSBURGH,PA, us

I am so glad I moved here from the depressed area of the mid-atlantic. Phoenix is changing fast and I'm proud to say I'm one of the new group changing the demographic of the city and the state. No one has mentioned phoenix's South Mountain, one of the largest city parks in the world.

Adam, Tempe,

Adding to the update of your 1990s history, your declarative statement of fact that Hizzoner delivered the White House for JFK is simply wrong. Nothing was ever proven, and JFK would have won the election WITHOUT Illinois' electoral votes regardless.

No wonder you found U of C so terrifying.

Jason, Evanston, IL, USA

Here's the catch in '08. Many of those exurb Bush voters from '04 are now stuck with a huge gasoline expense from commuting to work in an SUV and their McMansions have declining values, yet higher monthly payments. Such are the realities of "conservative utopias" today.

Casey, Amsterdam,

Senator Obama is in no way "pro-Palestinian," as you describe him. He has said numerous times that he is strongly Pro-Israel and will remain so, and his voting record in the Senate reflects this, being nearly identical to that of Hillary Clinton and John McCain on issues of importance to Israel.

Jake, Boston, USA

As a lifelong Chicagoan of 35 years (really born and raised here, unlike the Indonesian- Kansan- Hawaiian-Kenyan), I have grown up witnessing firsthand the unabashed level of cover-up and blatant corruption that we're all just supposed to accept as "Chicago" politics...

Zemo, Chicago, USA

...This Chicago-style corruption is accepted here as some sort of time-honored tradition, quote Obama: "I'm from Chicago, you wanna do politics? I can do politics!" Then when asked about his coming up amid the corruption he says he wants credit for "navigating" the sleaze without indictments!

Zemo, Chicago, USA

Interesting until the conclusion, which is dead wrong. In fact, the invisible hand of the marketplace is working. Traffic congestion, high gas prices and demographics are causing a resurgence of cities like Chicago, while the exurbs of the sun belt are entering a period of decline.

Spike, Washington, USA

There's a lot more Chicagoans moving to Phoenix than the other way around.. In fact, I move to Phoenix from St. Louis 5 years ago, and I've never met one person who told me they were moving to Chicago! Arizona is the future, everything east of the Mississippi is the past.

Tevis, Goodyear, AZ,

What a nice, breezy, fictional portrait of Chicago; still under the hereditary, dictatorial rule of the Daley family machine. Chicago is a cesspool of corruption. I oppose Obama because there simply is no way politician from Chicago can be other than corrupt. Resko is just the tip of the iceburg.

Dave, PA, USA

Embarrassing that Hunt has a deeper grasp of the US electorate than the American media in their delirious certainty that Obama will carry all 50 states and immediately usher in the Kingdom of God - if they had ever had the good grace to be embarrassed about anything. Excellent article!

Jeff, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA

Coastal liberals, and it seems, their European wannabes, gasp at what they percieve to be Southwestern socio-hystrionics - "wide open spaces" and "closd minds". Not true (says this liberal). The independent spirit, even in our transplants, is vibrant. And we just don't share Pelosi's priorities.

Lisa, Dallas, TX, US

o why are thousands of people from Chicago(at least those who can) retiring to Phoenix?
<br/>The only reason to live in Chicago is that you don't have a choice.Nasty weather,rude people and high crime....

Milan , Phoenix, AZ

It's 113 today and I'm cool and happy. (Thanks to the wizardry of Willis Carrier.) I commute to work at 60 MPH. My house is 3 times the size I could afford in Chicago. Literally every building I have seen today is new in the last 15 years. Such a surprise that we reject the government nanny!

Jeff, Phoenix, USA

Haile you obviously have never lived here, Stop your bigoted thinking and embrace some acceptance of others.

And for all of those bagging on gated comunities, how many of you have to Buzz your visitors into your apartment building?

Ray, Phoenix, USA

Folks move to Phoenix from places like Chicago because Arizona feels free - almost like you're stepping into the great "West." An place of opportunity. No political "machine." No grime and organized crime. Rugged individualists are found there. Obama is a creature of the Chicago they left.

Bill, Las Vegas, USA

One good thing about smug, flippant pieces of hackery like this column - the comments section where people have some sort of chance to display actual acquaintance with the locations and issues at hand. Mostly it's flamewars, though.

wareq, Highland Park, New Jersey,

This article cites an analysis of white fertility rates to support its specious reasoning. The US Census projects that, while the West will be the fastest growing US region through 2025, more than 80% of that growth will be from non-whites, who overwhelmingly favor Democrats.

Sam, Sacramento, CA

It is news to me that white people are having babies at all, never mind deliberately having large families. The white birth rate is below replacement level, whites will soon be extinct, and so will the republican party.

mike Burns, Bakersfield, USA

Arizona voted for Clinton in 1996.
The current govenor is a woman, a lawyer and a Democrat.
Barry Goldwater hated the religious right and said so.
And the state's crazed Republican establishment hates McCain.

Dig a little deeper, please.

Zuckerman, Paris, France

You left something out. About half of Chicago moved to Phoenix. If you don't believe me, go to a spring training game of the Cubs or White Sox, or a Diamondbacks game when Chicago is in town.

James Keswick, Phoenix, USA

There are other dynamics the author is ignoring. Immigrants, especially hispanics, are becoming an ever larger voting bloc. As gas prices rise, the exurban lifestyle will become more and more unsustainable. Also, city folks moving to the exurbs often bring their voting habits with them, ie Virginia.

Mark, Seattle, USA

This may turn out very interesting. McCain said, "Let's drill". It resonates with people who don't live in the liberal cities, and maybe enough who do, to create a wedge. Our fuel problems are self-inflicted thanks to the Democrats and everyone knows it. If we let the free market work, it will.

Ric, Phoenix, Mexico

My family has 12 conservative Republicans ready to vote. My socialist neighbor has exactly 2 people ready too vote, he , and his wife.

Michael Lloyd, Seminole, Florida

ARIZONA follows the traditions of ISRAEL. It is a very intelligent state. Poor like much of the west coast/or southern us. None of the hurricanes, earthquakes or volcanoes. Extremly conservative. Army intelligence education regiments. A blue sky with seldom any clouds and an intense sun.

Christian, Tucson, USA

352 superdelegates and Al Gore are wrong.

Sylvia Johnsen, Oslo, Norway

Chicago is indeed a well run city - Mayor Daley's machine keeps the Democrats in line and they turn the state blue in Presidential elections - you can take that to the bank.

I can't vote with the socialism tide- McCain has my vote.

Obama is so far left if he moves, he'll fall off the map.

Mona, Melrose Park, IL, USA

What are the Obama folks, preaching post-partisanship, going to do when he gets his clocked cleaned by an old-fashioned war hero? Obama is a human weathervane, and Americans are rightly skeptical of messianic politicians. Obama's rise is largely media driven and will surely fail come November.

Craig, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

This former snowbird and current Latte Liberal (Limosine Liberal is so last century) would rather raise kids in Phoenix than Chicago any day. Chicago is a great place to visit - in the summer in the day time, with an expense account. But, Phoenix is a collection of safe, family friendly cities.

Lisa, Dallas, TX, US

I was born in Phoenix and have lived here most of my life but have also lived in California and Illinois. The distinction the author makes between Phoenix and Chicago seems to me more a matter of whether the government is considered to be the savior or the scourge. Generally it's the scourge.

Ric, Phoenix, Mexico

I lived in Chicago for six years. Nasty people. Awful weather. Flat, endless concrete. I've never lived in Arizona but I did live in California for sixteen years. I'd take the desert over the urban, dirty jungle any day!!

DeeDee, Quincy, MA, USA

The decription of Chicago as a socialist utopia amuses me. Chicago's commitment to the poor and its investment in struggling neighborhoods is a shame compared to other US cities. If anything, Obama's liberalism was formed as a reaction against the top-heavy, highrise-living city elite.

Michael, Chicago, IL, US

Where has Tristram been the last 30 years? Certainly not in Phoenix. And it's blatantly apparent that his understanding of politics in the American southwest is a mile wide and an inch deep. I suspect the depth of his understanding of Chicago is similar.

Randall, Tucson, Arizona,

Maybe it has been an argument but who is winning now? The city driving everywhere on $4 gas or the city with mass transit, public amenities, parks, and general livability? Obama need not change his approach as it works. Anyone campaigning for the right of SUV's, exurbs, and strip malls is doomed.

shepard, Monmouth, OR, USA

There are no motorcycle helmet laws in Illinois either.

Tom, Springfield, IL,

The sprawl of Western cities remains the future, not filthy, crowded anthills such as Chicago. The era of the gasoline powered auto has been given its death notice by Saudi greed.

Even so, living at 7,560' ASL I dread attempting to wend my way through deep snow in an over-grown golf cart.

Dave Livingston, El Paso County Colorado, USA

P.S. Read David Brooks in today's NYTimes,

MARD, Sarasota, FL, USA

Illinois and Arizona are firmly in the Obama and McCain columns respectively, so no-one's vote there will make any difference in the electoral college. The election will be decided by swing voters in a few competitive states such as Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico.

Andy, Somerset, UK

Ah yes, the sophisticated culture of pothole repair, blinking traffic baracades, endless construction performed by unionized workers, not working. Soot colored piles of plowed snow. Angry,and depressed commuters slogging along. Its as breathtaking as the sub-zero temperatures in winter. No thanks.

Tom, Beautiful Arizona, USA

Chicago is in some ways the bastion of modern free-market economics, not just from a free-market, academic standpoint, but from a business standpoint as well. Chicago's financial markets (CME, CBOT) are at the leading edge of financial innovation as are Chicago's start-up companies.

James, Chicago, USA

Obama IS more of a European-style socialist - he wants more government control. McCain IS a Westerner, for less government, more individual responsibility. The fruits of the two views can be seen when we look at the Iowa floods vs. Katrina - personal responsibility vs. govt. dependency.

Shefali, Austin, Texas, USA

I'm a Hyde Parker, so I can attest that while segregation may be the de facto norm elsewhere in the region, my neighborhood is one of the most successfully integrated in the nation. It here that Obama's vision of a post-racial society was born. We are proving that one is possible.

Lili, Chicago, USA

BTW, I like both Chicago and Phoenix. Chicago is a lot more fun to visit, but Phoenix is a better place to raise kids - less crime, more open spaces. Plus the races are more integrated. BTW, something like 70% of Hispanics in AZ voted for McCain. Hispanics like strength in their candidate.

Shefali, Austin, Texas, USA

Only one bomb and one cop was killed at Haymarket.

Justin, Chicago,

The sprawling, car-dependent exurb isn't the "city of the future" -- it's doomed, by rising gas prices, by global warming (who will live in Phoenix once it gets summer temperatures of 120 degrees F? 110 is already not uncommon), and by horrendous water-supply problems. Give me Chicago any day!

Kate Baldwin, Chicago, USA

the problem with driving in modern US cities is not the grid plan, it's getting off at the right highway or interstate junction - not strictly getting lost - more a question of overshoot...

incidentally , i passed through arizona briefly last year and it is a great state

ab, bristol,

If energy prices do stay this high I have a hard time believing that the Western "hubless" urban model with continue to outgrow traditional cities that have urban centers serviced by public transportation.

Charlie, Chicago, USA

As a frequent visitor to Phoenix Can I have a small say ? Yes, the seemingly unstoppable sprawl of identikit developments is bad news all round - and the smog is deplorable - but some city/county development is impressively good. The loop 101 ring freeway for instance. And there are cacti still

David Thomas, Beaconsfield, Bucks UK

Chicago, like the state of Illinois and the federal government, is being used by public employees and contractors to plunder taxpayers. Obama stands for the right of public employees to continue stealing from the public if he stands for anything.

Peter, Chicago, United States

Chicago has come a long way as Martin mentions in his comment, but as a resident of the the gentrified "Old Town" in Chicago and as a public school teacher on both the north and south sides of Chicago it would be naive of anyone to believe that Chicago is not still segregated. Interesting article!

Matt Alva, Chicago, USA

How's that? You say it's not an "East Coast effete affair" but rather a "cosmopolitan street-savy ideology." Sir this is a transparent distinction without a difference. BO has tipped his hand more than once on how he will kow tow to the limousine liberals, e.g. Caroline Kennedy for the Supreme Court

L.A. Seman, Broadview Heights, USA

"Thanks to Mayor Daley's 1960s zoning strategies that cordoned off the African-American community into vast “projects” to the west and south of downtown." Which were demolished years ago, their neighborhoods redeveloped. When exactly did you last visit our city? It's come a long way since then.

Martin, Chicago, USA

As a native of Phoenix, I see more and more of people from Chicago moving to my City. Everything is changing, from the way in which people drive to the crime rate, and of course, the left wing politics. If any Chicagoens or Californians are reading this, do us all a favor, stay home.

Reed, Phoenix, USA

Phx is run by dumb cowboys, unaware that their desert town long ago became the ugliest city in America. The only cacti left are on AZ's license plates. You can cut the brown air with a knife.

Obama can go there and learn how not to govern.

Pete, La Mesa, USA

First of all, how does anyone get lost in Phoenix? The author is right about the the respective demographics of Republican vs Democrats. Republicans more pro life thus the larger families Democrats pro abortion thus the smaller families. Having lived in both states give me Arizona.

Ralph Woods, Avondale Arizona, USA

This writer needs to do more research; especially about the hundreds of thousands of hispanic immigrants all over this land--Chicago and Phoenix--who will be supporting Barack in huge numbers. Chicago is probably the best-run city in this nation "a city that works," stunning architecture, culture!

Martin, Chicago, USA

Cute how Chicago is credited with electing JFK while Phoenix, with our "gated 'communities'" (?), gets the blame for electing W. We were practically a swing state then and have a borderline socialist for governor. To our credit, we did vote for Reagan...Phoenix is no more cut and dried than Chicago

Ben, Phoenix, USA

While the gated communities of Phoenix are powerful, my question is who will get the hispanic vote in Arizona and Illinois? McCain? I doubt it...

stone, Beijing , China

A few liberties were taken to support Mr.Hunt's premise. Illinois does not have motorcycle helmet laws. Colorado is not in the southwest. I can't speak for the residents of that state, but I doubt they would feel much kinship with the residents of Phoenix or Las Vegas.

Vicki, Chicago, USA

I would choose Chicago (or any other Midwestern city) over Phoenix to raise my children any day of the week. Close communities, strong faith, diversity, tolerance and love of the enviroment are values that just can't be found in other parts of this country, especially not Phoenix.

Haile, Cleveland, US

How on earth do you get lost driving in Phoenix??? It's a grid system, with nearly all roads going either north/south or east/west!!!

Geoff, Phoenix, USA

What an insulting way to give a compliment to Phoenix. Living there for a year is hardly enough to embrace the unique character of this terrain. A land previously Mexican and extremely Native American, it's anything but amorphous. The beauty of the desert is distinct, memorable, and durable.

Paula, Valencia, USA/California