Wasted Potential

When Kwame Kilpatrick first ran for mayor in 2001 he was the Obama of the Democratic Party at that time. At age 31 he epitomized hope for a city mired in social, economic, and political problems. He exuded confidence and leadership and, as many fallen politicians do, he touted his young children as the reason why he would conduct business ethically. A positive stint as mayor in Detroit could have launched him as a major contender in national politics.

[sigh] And then .. the thug-ocracy began. The abuses of power -- originally financial and then sexual -- led to numerous scandals over the past seven years. The most serious of which, perjury and obstruction of justice, will definitely end his career and may lead to prison time. For someone who was so proud of setting a positive example for his family, his behavior has been embarrassing, but his arrogance is unconscionable. Rather than resigning from his post when indicted of felony charges in the spring, he has pretended to "serve" the city while collecting his salary. Today he made national headlines yet again when he was sent to jail for violating his bond. I have a lot of respect for the judge who was willing to take a stand for the judicial process in a system that is highly corrupt and in a city where retaliatory violence is common.

Kilpatrick's response to his arrest was laughable: "I don't believe that there is a person that's ever been through this process that respects it more than I do." Funny coming from a man facing perjury charges who recently assaulted a police officer and has violated his bond conditions other times. Maybe one of his kids can explain to him what the word respect actually means.