Remember a couple months ago when those members of Congress took the "Food Stamp Challenge," trying to eat on only $21 a week? Even Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and his wife joined in.
Now, the four mayoral candidates in Nashville have each accepted a challenge to be homeless for a night.
One man tried in vain to sleep on a park bench. Two others swallowed their pride as they went into restaurants, broke but hungry. With no bathroom available, another one used the woods....
The National Coalition for the Homeless has been organizing similar experiences for college students and others for the past 25 years. But the group's executive director, Michael Stoops, said it was the first time political candidates agreed to take part.
Maybe I'm too cynical, but all these mile-in-someone-else's-shoes stunts seem really cheap to me -- maybe even offensive.
Like, it's great that you want some perspective on poverty and everything. But playing homeless for one night or pretending to shop on food stamps while you hold up a box of Hamburger Helper and mug for the press just strikes me as gross. Especially when, at the end of whatever predetermined period of time, you go back to your regular menu or your comfy bed. It all just seems so pedantic, so phony.
I mean, wouldn't the poor be better served by your coming up with an anti-poverty plan of some sort, rather than spending a night on a park bench?
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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