A GIFT FOR BALTIMORE – AT 11:08 A.M. ET:  The mayor of Baltimore, who is not one of the great leaders of our time, will decline to seek re-election.  From The Hill:

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will not seek reelection, she announced Friday, stepping aside after fallout over the case of Freddie Gray and subsequent rioting in the city.

"I've realized that every moment that I've spent planning for a campaign or reelection was time that I was taking away from my current responsibilities from my city," she said during a press conference.

"Because of that, I have made the decision to not seek reelection," she said.

"I haven't lost a campaign since middle school," she said. "It's not that I didn't think that I could win, I just had to ask myself at what cost."

The Baltimore Sun reported that she briefed her staff Friday and has no plans to seek another office.

The announcement comes ahead of the trials for six police officers involved in the arrest and death of Gray, who died in April while in police custody. Rioting erupted in the city on the day of his funeral.

Her administration agreed this week to pay $6.4 million to the family of Gray and accept civil liability in the case while not acknowledging any wrongdoing on the part of police.

COMMENT:  Middle school is where she should be.  She handled the riots horribly, saying that the city had to give the rioters some room to destroy.  And the settlement with the Gray family is outrageous, coming before any adjudication.  It looks like a bribe to keep the peace.

Trouble is, Baltimore will probably elect someone worse.

September 11, 2015