Bloomberg Proves Himself

(CBS)  Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News anchor and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.

---

I'll be honest: I have always been a little wary of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Nothing personal; he's a good man, as far as I know. I just have this thing about people who buy public offices. He spent $76 million to get elected mayor and has already spent $46 million of his own money on his re-election bid this year. What is that all about? Besides, I have just never understood how people who buy their way into politics can really be in touch with the people they are supposed to serve.

Well, I must admit that Bloomberg showed us one way last week: by just telling the truth and alerting the public to the possibility of a terrorist threat to the New York subways. While the various arms of the federal government were arguing behind closed doors about what it all meant, Bloomberg just told the people what was happening and flooded the subways with cops. The Department of Homeland Security immediately spread the word that the mayor was overreacting. But what if it had all been true? We all saw what happened while the Department of Homeland Security and its people were trying to figure out whether there were people in the New Orleans Convention Center after the hurricane.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for not waiting on them to decide what to make of this one. Thankfully, this threat did fizzle. But keeping people informed and putting their safety first is never a bad idea.

By Bob Schieffer