Having said all of this — and maybe it's just hometown bias — a part of me thinks Philadelphia is a more serious contender than some of the experts are saying. After all, much of the city's renaissance — its revitalized neighborhoods and its many small tech start-ups — has happened without those same experts paying much attention. I think Bezos — who, like everybody, wants to rule the world — wants to plant his flag on the East Coast. And he's politically savvy, which might eliminate both Toronto (not American) and D.C. (already resented by 95 percent of Americans). But if Philadelphia is in the mix, now is the right time to ask whether we even want to be.