It doesn't matter if William Bell was endorsed by a convicted felon.

Or if Patrick Cooper is "black enough" to be Birmingham's mayor.

Or if Bell is too much of the same, ol' political scene.

Or if Cooper is too Ivy League.

What matters is now.

Where is Birmingham today?

The truth: Birmingham is the Sick Man of Alabama. Coughing. Wheezing. Gasping. Desperate for a breath of fresh air and an antidote for what ails it.

Alabamians — you and I — need it to be better tomorrow than it is today.

Intertwined with Jefferson County's myriad and confounding fiscal troubles, Birmingham is roiled with self-induced strife and political machinations. It's Alabama's largest city; it's Alabama's most recognizable city; and, with all due respects to Montgomery's politics, Mobile's burgeoning industrial base and Huntsville's smarts, Birmingham is Alabama's most important city.

The state's image doesn't suffer if Tuscaloosa's mayor is behind bars or the Lee County Commission faces record debt.

Yet, a healthy, vigorous Alabama needs the greater Birmingham area to be healthy and vigorous, not feckless and incompetent.

When metro Birmingham wins — creates jobs, reduces crime, fights political corruption, improves its schools — Alabama wins.

When metro Birmingham fails — its county commission in turmoil, its county finances in massive debt, its mayor convicted of bribery and conspiracy and removed from office — Alabama fails, as well.

Now the state's largest city has a new mayor, Bell, who hardly is that breath of fresh air. He's entrenched in Birmingham politics, a usual face, a frequent player. He sits on the Jefferson County Commission — the same one that may have to file the largest municipal bankruptcy ever due to billions of dollars of bond debt.

In most cases, having a videoed endorsement from the convicted Larry Langford — who's awaiting sentencing — would be political suicide. Who'd want that? Apparently, that's not the case in Birmingham.

Unfortunately, the mayoral election in Alabama's largest city succumbed to some of the worst forms of campaigning. Seen from afar, the election wasn't about distancing the city's predominantly black population from Langford's arrogant transgressions or removing the circus from City Hall.

Instead, it became an election about race. Bloggers and campaigners made it about the lightness of Cooper's brown skin — a charge not directed at Bell. That topic, and others, had nothing to do with directing a city's resurgence or eradicating City Hall of foolishness or urging fiscal prudence to the entire metro area.

I have no idea who represented the best fit for Birmingham. Cooper, never elected, would need on-the-job mayoral training; ask Annistonians how that scenario could play out. Bell has experience, knowledge and political contacts in the city's influential black communities. But, right or wrong, he's seen by some as a continuation of Birmingham's political past that's often linked to ineptitude and chronyism, mismanagement and ineffectiveness.

Bell won. Let's hope he's a better mayor than campaigner.

Look, it's easy to sit in northeast Alabama and cast stones down Interstate 20. Birmingham and Jefferson County are easy targets. Same thing for Atlanta in Georgia, for Jackson in Mississippi, for any state whose largest metro area is embroiled in political and fiscal tumult.

Here, our Calhoun County homes are sadly beset with our own set of troubles. Unemployment? We have it. Political missteps? The list is long. Residents who want to use racial differences between communities as scapegoats or excuses? Got them, too.

In that way, Birmingham is us. Jefferson County is us. We're all soiled, needing improvement.

Nevertheless, I'm a stringent believer in the inside-out theory — be it politics, be it families, be it virtually anything. The core must be strong for something to first survive, then grow. Homes need good foundations. Families need solid parenting. Companies require robust leadership.

And states? They're hardy when their most recognizable cities are vigorous, vibrant and stout. Weak leadership that starts within can affect an entire region, an entire state. A cancer eats its way to the surface.

It's great that Huntsville's becoming one of America's top white-collar destinations. It's wonderful to see the expansion of Mobile's varied industries.

Yet, all of us — the entire state — need Birmingham and Jefferson County leaders strong, not vulnerable or corrupt. Alabama can succeed if its center is weak, if its core is an embarrassment, but that's a filthy formula to adopt. For the state's sake, metro Birmingham's leadership needs a resurgence. Now's a good time to start.