In his article (“New York Fetish,” 8/1), John Cloud compares Washington, D.C., and New York and unsurprisingly concludes that of the two cities, New York is the cooler place to live. The problem, however, is that this comparison does not actually mean much, particularly when Cloud describes Washington so generally: “Washington is a bad city” where “politics trumps culture.” He neglects to point out that there is in fact considerable cultural activity here that is unique to this specific city.

Cloud’s own lingering memories of “Capitol Hill keg parties” and his encounters with what he terms “the dork class of people” here makes it pretty clear that he himself never actually became a “walker” but instead remained a “gawker” during his time in Washington.

Hopefully this change will occur more quickly for him in the Big Apple.

Dupont Circle