Here are two stories from today’s Times that, taken together, illustrate the tension between wanting to be in New York and missing what you’ve left behind:

Mr. Schlesinger’s songs are also born from what may be the most widely shared trait among New Jersey kids, a sort of suburban inferiority complex. “In high school I felt vaguely inadequate when I was in New York,” he said. “In my perception, the city kids had a certain attitude that was based on nothing more than being raised there.”

– from a piece about the allure Manhattan holds for New Jersey teens (a feeling I remember well).

And:

Every New Yorker needs a break from the city. Some escape to Central Park, some drive to the country on weekends, some summer in the Hamptons. Here’s what I do. I take a trip to an electronic simulation of my childhood home, with robotic versions of my high school friends, all controlled and viewed while I sit in front of my computer at my apartment on the Lower East Side.

– from a piece about using The Sims to escape from New York.

I’ve been reading the profile of Howard Dean in this week’s New Yorker. (I love a good New Yorker profile.)

Dean’s rise to front-runner status has been astounding. It’s truly amazing that a man whose campaign had less than $3 million in the bank a year ago is now the presumed nominee — presumed by the press and the White House, anyway.

Meanwhile, Clark appears to be gaining momentum. I have to admit, though, that despite my expressed preference for Clark, I’m starting to get won over by Dean. Perhaps presumed winners always look more attractive, or perhaps I’m just impressed by his rise. I still think that ultimately, Clark would have a better chance against Bush, but there’s something very sexy about Dean’s campaign. Sex sells. In fact, other than his support for gay civil unions and his anti-war stance, I doubt that many people could state what Dean’s positions are.

Okay — to be honest, I can’t really tell you what most of Clark’s positions are. But I think that more Americans would vote for him than for Dean.

Sometimes I wonder, does it really matter who the president is? If I were to completely shut myself off from the news, in what ways could I say that W’s presence in the White House has affected my life? The only thing I can think of is that I have $300 more in my bank account than I’d otherwise have. I’m being slightly flippant, of course. The problem with people who hold conservative Republican views is precisely that they think only about how economic policy affects themselves, here and now, and not about how those policies affect the rest of society, or about the long-term effects of those policies. The only time they think about the rest of society is when they’re telling people what to do in their personal lives, and the only time they think about long-term effects is when they’re preaching about Judgment Day.

I don’t know why I’m discussing the race for the Democratic nomination, anyway. Even I were a registered Democrat, New Jersey’s primary isn’t until June 8. If you’re not going to hold a primary until after the contest has been decided, why even bother?

Of course, maybe everyone drops out except Dean and Clark, and there’s a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination, culminating in a big suspenseful fight at the convention this summer. That would be pretty effin’ cool.

Or maybe Dean or Clark bolts and runs as an independent candidate.

Hey, anything can happen.