"From Chicago to Shanghai, we selected 30 urban centers that are shaping our future." Salt Lake City is on that list, under the subheading "Urban innovators," along with Curitiba, Brazil and Tallinn, Estonia. Utah's capital, the Web site said, has the "youngest urban citizenry in the United States" and a downtown that is being "radically" redesigned.

The point is, I'm not sure the Wasatch Front has changed what it really is that much since 1988. Utahns still agonize over their liquor laws. They remain doggedly conservative, supporting President Bush even when other conservatives no longer do. They still have larger-than-average families and a high birthrate, and a lot of them belong to the same church.

All of these things have, for some, been sources of frustration, agony and, yes, obsession through the years, despite the Winter Olympics and a host of other successful entries on the national and world stage.

But Utahns remain the same in other ways, too. They work hard and cherish innovation and entrepreneurship. They speak several languages and value education.

The truth is, the Perry Como comparison was remarkably accurate, then and now, and not because of anything to do with the 1950s or cardigan sweaters.

The Web site www.perrycomo.net describes the singer as appearing "so relaxed that his critics believed he lacked ambition." He had, in other words, what was perceived by some as an image problem.

And yet he had a career that spanned six decades, making him one of the most successful singers of the 20th century. He had something that a few critics didn't like, but that most people did like.

"They judged by appearances and were fooled," the site quotes him as saying of those critics. "I was competitive."

---

Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com