Got nothing against the big town.

Still hayseed enough to say “look whose in the big town”.

 -John Mellencamp

 I have a friend  who commutes 50 miles from his rural home to a large city.  I asked him why he never moved and he said, “There are big town values and small town values.”

 I understand his philosophy.  I’ve spent most of my life in small cities  located within 20  miles of larger ones. 

 A small geographic difference  but very  different worlds.  A small town provides a sense of comfort and accountability. 

 Almost all United States presidents, expect for Teddy Roosevelt, grew up in small towns.   They came  from places like Plains, Ga.,  Whitter, Ca. and Dixon, Ill. 

 The 2008 presidential race has several  urban candidates.  The  debate has shifted.  You don’t see candidates talking about the virtues of peanut farming.

 There are  few small town economic issues being discussed.   Several small towns are losing population and can only shop at one  large retailer. Small town populations   are getting older and their young  people are moving to big towns for jobs.    Large factories are moving to foreign countries and nothing is replacing them.

 Is anyone candidate  talking about  the small towns?  If so, please let me know.

 I hear more  debate about rooting for the Boston Red Sox than saving the beauty of small town life.  I don’t hear anyone talking about rural drug addiction and the dangers of Oxycontin.

 Earlier this year, I came upon a story with small town implications.  Rudolph Giuliani, who capitulated from a federal prosecutor into the national spotlight, represented the makers on Oxycontin in legal proceedings.  The makers of the drug admitted to downplaying its  addictive  dangers.

 Thank to Rudolph’s great connections, none of the drug maker’s executives went to jail.  They paid a fine that represented a sliver of the drug’s profits.  

 Oxycontin is a primary contributor to the decline of rural America.  A whole generation of young people are addicted, dying, neglecting their children and not able to hold a job.

 For some reason, Oxycontin has been a small town problem.  The drug is not as popular in urban areas.  Thus, it is ignored by the national media and national candidates.

 It’s more fun to argue about the Red Sox. 

 I don’t have an excuse for people who took drugs for cheap kicks.  They got themselves in trouble.    I feel for those who accidentally  got hooked on drugs.

 A lot of people  went to the doctor for a minor injury.  They were given OxyContin, a supposedly non addictive drug. The people got initial ailment but never got over the addiction.

 Some are dead.  Some are addicts.  Few seem to completely recover.

 We need a full fledged “war on addiction” to help surviving addicts get their lives together.  

 Small town people are used to accountability.  Everyone knows each other  and what they do.

 At my peak weight, I tried to buy  a box of donuts.   The grocery  clerk looked at the donuts and said “Aren’t you the guy who writes about dieting for the newspaper?”

  I put back the donuts and got serious about weight loss.  

 I laugh at all media attention given to  Guiliani  and his mistress sneaking off to their fancy love nest.

 If Rudolph  had lived in a small town, he wouldn’t have been able to get away with cheating on his wife.  Everyone would have known about the affair immediately. 

 Small town news moves more quickly  than the Associated Press.  When I wanted to know the news   back home,  I called  my mother.  She had the scoop  well ahead of the newspapers.

 Living life in public makes you think before you act. It’s a moral compass  that candidates need to have. 

 I’ve been touting  small town candidates like Mike Huckabee and John Edwards.   I don’t know if they have a plan for rural America but they have a sense of what rural life is like.

 I want a president who grew up knowing that if they cheated on their spouse or cheated on their diet,  someone would hold them responsible.

 Accountability is a good trait for the president to have.   No matter what size town they come from.

 Don McNay is the Chairman of the Board for McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Ky.  You can write to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or read his award winning syndicated column at www.donmcnay.com