Ambrose Bierce, author of "The Devil's Dictionary," said, "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Oddly, sometime around 1914, he headed to Mexico to watch Pancho Villa wage war and got lost south of the border. Bierce never was seen again.
But Bierce was on to something, even if he failed geography. Who knew the difference between Iran and Iraq before Bush's war against Saddam Hussein⢠The whole Middle East has come into focus since "the great geographer" launched "Shock and Awe" between the Tigris and the Euphrates.
And while war teaches us much about geography, a solid knowledge of geography can provide the key to political success. On every rung of the political ladder there is no substitute for a thorough understanding of the geography of an election district or ward or city as our civic wars are fought.
When Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto announced he was running to unseat Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, his political aspirations must have been motivated by geography. The smart money may say that the job is Ravenstahl's to lose but the political geography is simple.
And if Peduto is to be competitive, his strategy must be simple as well. Three campaigns are natural and necessary in any citywide political effort and, in these matters, our rivers uncomplicate things for once.
What some still call "the old city" -- all that land between the rivers stretching from Point State Park to the eastern borders -- is one distinct target. Peduto must win those densely populated, high-voter-turnout neighborhoods in the east.
Peduto's City Council district and top supporters are in the east, so he has an established base that gives him an advantage. And his campaign style, taking full advantage of e-mail and text messages, has been customized for his current constituency.
In the south -- across the Mon -- Peduto must hold Ravenstahl even. The youthful scene on the South Side is just part of the political story; the neighborhoods on the hills above are filled with informed and sophisticated "super voters."
The Wagner political family holds forth on those hilltops and it has outlasted and out-campaigned all challengers over the years. Its position in this race will be critical. If the Wagners support Peduto, he may do better there than he must.
Finally, Peduto can concede Ravenstahl's North Side base across the Allegheny and still win the mayor's race. Naturally, he must campaign hard to keep the margin as close as possible but a Ravenstahl victory in the north would not be fatal to Peduto's chances.
Ravenstahl's previous political experience was running for a by-district Council seat, which can be won by knocking on more neighborhood doors than the next guy. Peduto has run citywide once before, when he ran an impressive second to Bob O'Connor.
In spite of the fawning media and the wagers of the smart-money crowd that Ravenstahl enjoys, this can still become a real horse race. And a thorough understanding of geography may hold the key.
According to "Geography for Dummies," the discipline itself is of questionable parentage. A number of guys have been called the father of geography, including Eratosthenes and Homer. But thousands of years later, none of this was enough to chase off the living saint of the 20th century.
In 1923, Mother Teresa started her work in Calcutta as a geography teacher at a local high school. She parlayed that into a worldwide movement on behalf of the elderly, infirm and poor. And while there are no similarities between Mother Teresa and our local pols, when it came to constituent service, we have never seen a better politician.
