Sarah Palin=Ben Franklin?

…OK, probably not. But given that the virtues and vices of small towns are back in the spotlight, I recommend this outstanding City Journal article on "Ben Franklin: City Slicker."

Sure, Franklin often presented himself as a country mouse or a small-town boy bewildered in the big city….

While serving as his country's ambassador in Paris during the American Revolution, he affected the dress and manner of a simple Quaker: a dull coat and a fur cap atop stringy, unpowdered hair. The French ate it up. Franklin was the ultimate American: an unaffected, un-citified, and natural man. He even had some bad things to say about cities, recognizing the appeal of Africans' and American Indians' simpler lives.

Via A&L Daily