Fenty Might Sate Change-Hungry District

Fenty wants to be a mayor of new ideas, presenting proposals such as his school modernization program and then hiring people to manage them well.

Cropp slammed Fenty for proposing programs and then bailing out, leaving it to others to execute. She presented herself as someone who has the experience to handle the nitty-gritty and manage the city through its problems.

Fenty sees campaigning as essential to governing; going door to door is not just a stunt but a way to show that government cares and to force the rank and file to serve citizens. Cropp sees campaigning as a chore barely related to the details of negotiating real estate deals and massaging Wall Street financiers.

I spoke to top strategists in both campaigns yesterday and was surprised to find them in near-total agreement about the state of the candidates and the electorate. Both sides agreed that voters are taken with Fenty's message of change. Both agree that voters see Cropp as someone who has been in leadership throughout the city's darkest chapters.

Both said Cropp's decision to go negative is her only chance to convince voters that Fenty is simply too green. And both said the chances of that tactic working are middling at best.

The Cropp folks think Fenty should have had more experienced political sages around him through the last phase of the campaign. The Fenty folks think Cropp should have surrounded their candidate with young people to show some energy and fresh thinking in the final push.

But if both sides say the candidate who represents change is going to win, then this election is pretty much over, barring last-minute gaffes.

Where does that leave this change-happy electorate? We've made some whopping mistakes with this approach in the past. But we've had some fascinating and even productive times, too. The transformation of the District during Williams' two terms has been nothing short of astonishing, and while too many people feel left out and unwanted, much good has come of Williams' effort to reimagine the city.

Is Adrian Fenty the "natural successor" to Williams, as he put it yesterday? The town that loves to live dangerously seems eager to find out.

E-mail:marcfisher@washpost.com