Manhattan sophistication dies with Bobby Short

Is Manhattan still a sophisticated city, like a thirties movie with songs by Cole Porter, and writers meeting at the Algonquin? No, that's all gone, and the last man to represent that Manhattan style, Bobby Short, has now passed on to that swell Cafe Carlyle lounge in the sky. Obit here. Appreciations here and here and, from Carlyle staff, here. What is Manhattan these days? A city of real-estate Trump vulgarians and greedy Wall Street brokers waiting for Bush to hand them our Social Security money. Poltroons all, remarkably short on Bobby Short's inimitable grace.