Elmer Smith: Verdict's in on 100 days, Obama, Angels, Farnese

MY FAITH in the American system of jurisprudence was profoundly shaken last week when three lawyers, one of them a judge, failed to recognize how ill-suited I am for jury duty.

After 36 years in this business, my sense is that everybody is guilty. Some of us just haven't been brought up on charges yet.

Nonetheless, my fellow jurors and I were able to dispense something roughly approximating justice. But a number of significant events passed without my comment while I was away.

On Barack Obama's small-town voter critique: I believe Obama will be elected president, which would do more to change the way America sees itself and is seen by the world than any election in the past century. But, I was surprised to hear his sweeping stereotype of small-town voters. This is the same guy who delivered that transcendent oratory on race, urging us to respect, and not dismiss, each other's grievances.

His "mangled" assessment of small-town voters did precisely that. It dismissed their grievances as mere bitterness, making them sound impotent and petulant. His supporters defend the remark as "basically true." But no stereotype that sweeping is ever true.

But even if it had been true, that's no more of a defense now than it was when Bill Clinton dismissed Obama's South Carolina win by recalling Jesse Jackson's win there. That was true too. But Obama supporters were right to question Clinton's motives.

Fortunately, Obama recognized the concerns his comment raised. He has apologized. We had eight years of a president who was never wrong. We don't need that from our next president.

On commemorating Mayor Nutter's first 100 days: I don't know who came up with the idea that 100 days (roughly 1/15th of a four-year term) represents some kind of milestone. Is the city 1/15th safer? Is city government more ethical by a 15th?

I do take a certain perverse pride in the fact that the Daily News' 100-day retrospective ran on the 99th day. We are, as usual, well ahead of the trend.

On the Guardian Angels'

token diss: SEPTA turned down the Guardian Angels' request for free passage as a matter of policy. If SEPTA did it for this group, it could get swamped with requests. I get that. But that's not the end of this story.

A group of activists that was poised to raise the money later learned that SEPTA, understandably, did not want to handle the money. And at least one faction of disgruntled Guardian Angels now says it'd rather patrol neighborhoods than the SEPTA system.

Bill Miller, who heads Ross Communications, has tried to spearhead the campaign. But he is reluctant to raise money to turn over to the Angels. SEPTA is stepping up police patrols in its frightening concourses. But a few extra pairs of eyes couldn't hurt. Can't someone figure this out?

On Johnny Doc vs. Fum . . . , uh, I mean, Farnese: You'd think that with all that is going on in his life, Vince Fumo would be relieved to leave the playing field. Instead, he is marshalling his considerable forces to support Larry Farnese's bid for Fumo's Senate seat.

The Inquirer reports that half of Farnese's campaign funding comes from politicians loyal to Fumo. Farnese's grandfather was a school board member tied to Fumo. But Farnese insists that he's no Fumocrat.

Still, Farnese is beginning to look a lot like a surrogate in Fumo's long-simmering feud with Dougherty, who has the support of most city ward leaders and Gov. Rendell in his well-financed bid for the state Senate seat Fumo is vacating after this term.

It's like old times, which is exactly what Farnese should distance himself from in his run for this seat that Fumo seems to think is his to broker. *

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