DETROIT (WJBK) -
The most surprising comments coming from the Democratic National Convention down in Carolina did not come from Presidents Obama or Clinton. Or even former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (click here).
They came from Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, who said President Obama needs to spend more time in Detroit.
That's rich, Dave, because that's exactly what Detroit is saying about you.
The Mirage of Manoogian Manor can just as often be seen in the nail salons and Chinese restaurants in West Bloomfield as he is in the streets of Detroit.
We've got nail salons in the city, Mr. Mayor. In fact, nail salons seem to be the only thing we have left.
Maybe the president won't set foot in Detroit because he knows it's become too dangerous under your watch.
Maybe he heard that Vice President Joe Biden's Secret Service truck was jacked this week one block from the FBI building.
The city is burning. The body count is piling up. The people cry for help. And yet the mayor is mum.
He blames it on everything from the economy to the consent agreement to the city council. But the Sasquatch of City Hall has been in office going on four years. Complete collapse is not much of a record when asking for a second term.
I did a series of stories this week on public safety in the city that I like to call "The Bing Says Nothing Trilogy."
In Part 1, I show how the demoralized police are on virtual strike. Consider that a confessed killer goes to a firehouse to turn himself in. After waiting for hours for a cop to show up and arrest the guy, a firefighter gave the killer eight bucks to catch a cab to a police precinct.
In any other city – and I've worked in a lot of them – City Hall would have been in crisis mode.
In Detroit, we are treated to silence. Cue the crickets.
I felt bad for the firefighter. Bing slashed his pension and paycheck. So as a gesture from all of us in the metropolitan area, I reimbursed him the $8. It's the least we could do.
In Part 2, I told how the city's medics are leaving in droves. And how the wheels literally fell off an ambulance traveling down the highway. The quote from the mayor's office?
"Nothing."
In Part 3, I came across an internal memo from the fire commissioner who had his budget cut so much by Bing that he was forced to lay off men and close station houses. Not a good idea in Arson Capital USA.
In need of cash, the commissioner came up with the bright idea of charging outside firefighters -- in search the Detroit experience -- a fee to come here and play big shot with our hoses.
Again, official response: "Nothing to say publicly."
Let me give you a piece of advice, Mr. Mayor. Nothing's not good enough. Not in the middle of a crime wave. Not during an election cycle. Not ever.
Man up. Speak up. Start believing in Detroit and being in Detroit.
