Congressman ‘Tip’ O’Neill Had It Right: All Politics Indeed Is Local

Commentary
By John A. Ostenburg

When you’re the mayor of a small town in a state that has produced two of the giants of American politics, your stature as a voice to be heard on matters of governance suffers from an innate and justified questioning of its authenticity.

I grew up in Springfield, Illinois – the city of Abraham Lincoln – and have experienced politics and governing in the same local arenas that nurtured Barack…