The disconnect between the real-world Obama and the Obama of liberals’ fantasies has always been wide, and that’ll be pointed up again this morning. Representatives of the White House are in town as part of the National Conversation on the Future of Cities. It’s described as an initiative “to highlight best practices around the nation that reflect the principles of President Obama’s new vision for developing cities and metropolitan America.” And where will the dignitaries be taking a tour and savoring the “best practices”? Why, South Lake Union, of course. Let’s look at the “best practices” on display there, shall we? Low-income housing activist John Fox–who opposed the redevelopment of the neighborhood–recently toted up the results of the city’s time, money, and attention. He found that, while other parts of Seattle languish, the city has earmarked almost a billion dollars in infrastructure for South Lake Union, where Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen is the biggest landowner. He points out that the politicians’ promises to turn the area into some kind of life-sciences hub have been a total bust. Despite extending hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax breaks to biotech, the sector completely tanked in the last few years and there’s been less job growth in South Lake Union than down in the industrial Duwamish. Buildings targeted and outfitted to house biotech are either empty or housing office workers, like those from Amazon, who’ve been reeled in from other neighborhoods.No doubt it will be a great source of joy for Mayor Greg Nickels to show off the gleaming newness of SLU to people who don’t necessarily know the backstory. Nickels has always been more appreciated by admiring out-of-towners. But when these White House officials ride that empty orange S.L.U.T. (and will they? or will it be too embarrasing?), they should take to heart that the unseemly subsidizing of South Lake Union is probably a big reason why Nickels won’t be on the ballot next month.