The history is this: Al Gore and John Kerry narrowly lost their presidential bids, and New Bedford failed to realize its ambitious plans for a world-class oceanarium.
You can beat your breast about that. And you can moan about how this once grand city again lost its big chance for a rapid renaissance.
Or you can roll up your sleeves and concentrate on some of the great things that 2009 New Bedford really does have, and is developing. Like its suddenly hip downtown; its first-rate zoo; its abundance of antique shops that rival any in the Northeast. All of a sudden, another one of the really great things about New Bedford is the Ocean Explorium.