Got It All Wrong

 

      Missed it by a mile.

      Since it is the media's job to correct politicians when they get it wrong, it is only fair to admit a mistake when one is made on the media side.  Such was the case on a recent blog concerning the Mayor of Detroit and his appearance on Mackinac Island at a business conference.

      For those of you who missed it, and shame on your for doing so, it was opined in this space that given Kwame Kilpatrick's legal dilemma and the media's propensity to turn everything into a feeding frenzy, it might be better if the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce found a way to un-invite  the mayor to avoid a spectacle during a leadership conference on the island this past week.  The fears were unfounded.

      It was speculated here that the chamber was quietly working on a way to do it, but that was wrong, too.  The chamber did invite the mayor, he did show up and the "story" of his legal woes did not dominate the four-day event.

      In fact if you talk to Dick Blouse who runs the whole shebang up there, it was not a distraction at all however he did concede that back home it was.

      Ditto from Kenny Cockrel Jr. who runs the Detroit City Council.  "Not that many people have brought it up," he reported. He said it was good that Mr. Kilpatrick was there because it "would have sent the wrong signal" had he been a no show.

      Now this is not to say that there was no buzz among the 1700 who munched on the fudge and soaked in the sunshine and rain at the Grand Hotel. 

      And as for the media, it did its job and interviewed the mayor who seemed pretty laid back and that was that.  He even seemed in good humor.

      "So what's new in your life?" was the salutation from one reporter when he bumped into His Honor for the first time.

       He chuckled and offered, "Nothing."

       He still contends that the controversy is not damaging his ability to do Detroit's business. Suffice to say not everyone in attendance concurred, and on that point, this blog did not get it wrong.

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