That's about the only thing that can explain what's happening with Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. I met him once at a WJR radio St. Patrick's Day broadcast and can definitely vouch for the guy's charisma and ability to work a room. I have no trouble understanding how he got the support to become mayor at a relatively young age. It's real easy to be taken in by Kilpatrick's public persona and it looks like that has happened with a bunch of people, many of them with lots of money and power in the business world. When Kwame is at his best, Detroit gets Super Bowls, Final Fours, All-Star games, and Campus Martius.
But as his political world crumbles, it's pretty clear that this story is really about a man that just couldn't handle all the power that he was given. Set aside all the gory details about extra-marital affairs, text messages, whistle-blowers and such and you're left with someone that really needed a strong mentor who could have helped guide Kilpatrick through the shark-infested waters that are Detroit politics. But what seems to have happened is that anyone that tried to keep the guy in check was fired and pushed out of the inner circle. You can be Kwame's friend as long as you don't interfere.
Complain all you want about the Detroit News and Free Press and say that they've lost relevance in the Internet era, but when it comes down to it, those folks are still able to wield some incredible power themselves. Thank goodness.
I really have no idea what's going to happen next or if he's going to survive as mayor. Today's document release wasn't all that exciting other than it now takes what was speculation about what went down with the whistle-blower/text messaging case and moved it into the fact column. It sounds like there are still more landmines out there, set to go off when the Wayne County prosecutor moves on possible perjury charges or if the Detroit City Council decides to make a power play on the mayor's office.
With rumors now circulating that Kilpatrick has spoken badly about the business and community leaders that had been supporting him up to this point, it might be that the money from the business world will go away from the city as long as Kilpatrick remains in office. Already, the head of DTE Energy has reacted negatively after remaining silent up until today's activities. If other power brokers, like Roger Penske and Mike Illitch for example, start pushing against the mayor it'll be hard for him to move the city forward.
As it stands right now, it's still Kilpatrick's decision on what he's going to do. But the more of this that comes out and the more support he loses, he risks going from being someone that has a chance at being forgiven to someone that will go down as the most corrupt figure ever in Detroit politics. While one would have thought that title was tough to achieve, right now it certainly looks like he's working hard to get it.
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